RWBY: Unbroken
by Nate Cu-Connallain
Summary: Blake's life has always been one of chains, of slavery. Her whole life up until now. That's about to change. When her future is bought by a Schnee, Blake will be given an opportunity she never thought possible, but is it the future she wants? And while her own life hangs in the balance, the world outside is growing wild and dark. Will she grasp it with both hands or let it crumble?
1. Chains: Chapter 1

**So this is a new one, a full AU. I think at least. It's different from my other story, but hopefully can be released at the same pace.**

 **I'll get a few things out of the way.**

 **Firstly, I'd like to start that while there is romance in this story, it will be heavily plot focused too. the world and politics will be important to this story so I hope you can follow along. Secondly it'd like to state two things that will not be in this fic: 1. an abusive relationship. this is the kind I see in a lot of "slave Au's" where one character is beaten relentlessly by the other who is supposed to eventually be their romantic interest. That doesn't sit well with me. That's not romance, that's Stockholm syndrome. 2. This is not some smutty heat filled story about domination and all that. I see those a lot, and while it's cool, it's not what this story will be focusing on. So, if that isn't what you want then feel free to take this as a warning.**

 **If you're still interested, then I hope you enjoy.**

 **...**

* * *

 **Part 1**

 **Chains**

The sound of hateful jeers filled her ears.

Blake panted in panicked breaths.

Metal shackles dragged her along, biting into her writs. Her bare feet trampled of jagged, stoney floors and were bloodied. Her skin was so freezing it burned as the arctic wind spared no pity for her rag-wearing form.

She clenched her teeth so hard she heard them creak. Where was she being taken? There was nothing but darkness, a blindfold having been wrapped around her head.

This wasn't fair. It wasn't fair!

Why was it her? She did what she was told. She'd kept quiet. She worked hard, she didn't complain and she was obedient.

So why was she being sold!?

Blake could hear the shuffles of other people in the same boat, both in front and behind the sound of bodies being dragged by accursed chains!

"Please," She begged. "Don't do this. I don't want to be a slave."

That was as far as she got before her shackles were yanked painfully and she cried out. "Shut up." The man holding her chains grumbled. "I'm not talkin' to no dirty Faunus."

Blake whimpered as blood leaked from underneath her metal bondage. The jeers and shouts were getting louder, the cold getting sharper.

Her ears flickered as a gust of wind reached her and she shivered. They were being led out of a tunnel. To somewhere outside.

Again, the gust of wind, and suddenly the shouting hit full volume. It was all around her, vile profanities and leering words form what she could only assume were humans.

She grit her teeth in fear and anger.

Humans were monsters, treating her people like this, treating _her_ like this. She hadn't done anything wrong! She'd just told the truth!

Blake stumbled and winced as her bare toe stubbed something and she nearly tripped up it. She dug her nails into her palms, fighting to ignore the pain as she was dragged up a set of steps.

It was a stage, she realised. As stage so that people could see them clearly.

Her ears flickered at movement behind her, and she cried out again as her legs were kicked out from under her. The sound of metal col be heard, and the whistle of a sword. She froze stiff as she felt it come down in front of her face, and paled when she realised it had wedged itself in between the links in her shackles, keeping her locked in place.

Someone grasped at her face, and there was suddenly light as the blindfold was ripped off her face.

She flinched as her feline eyes reacted to the sudden light and she had to squint to see anything properly.

She swallowed at what she saw:

There were so many. Rows upon rows of humans lined up to insect her from their seats.

Her head snapped to the left and right to see her fellow Faunus is the same position as her – on their knees and in chains – shaking with fear.

She forced herself not to do the same. She would not show terror to these monsters. She refused!

Suddenly, all voiced were silenced, as a man in a black waistcoat and expensive hat came onto the stage.

"Good evening my fine lords and ladies," he greeted. "And to the newcomers here on their first time to the auction."

Blake tensed. This was it. This was the slave auction!

Her eyes flickered to everything she could see:

They were in some kind of area, with massive walls encircling them and spikes lining the tops. The humans stood themselves above that, looking down on them like specimens to be examined, because in truth they were.

The sky was high above, and the arctic chill of Atlas faced no resistance from the open roof.

"Now," the man said. "No doubt you all want to enjoy the _fine_ weather we have today of all days."

There was a chuckle from that, making Blake feel appalled. How could these people laugh in a situation like this?! Were they that depraved!?

The auctioneer made his way over to the first Faunus, three spaces down from Blake.

"Very well, for all the people without a good view, here we have a bear Faunus, strong and healthy." The man flinched as the auctioneer placed two fingers in his mouth, grasping over his teeth.

"Healthy on the inside too, great teeth and steady reaction times, perfect for a hard day's work in the fields wouldn't you say? Now then, onto the bidding"

He turned to his audience and held up one hand.

"Starting at fifty lien; a low, low price for this muscle."

Noblemen and women called out steadily, the price raised high with every response.

"One hundred, two hundred, two fifty, five hundred… anyone else? No?" the auctioneer clapped his hands, and the sharp sound made Blake flinch.

"Our first specimen sold to Lord Benjamin Thrush."

With that, armed men stepped onto the stage, freeing the sword holding the bear Faunus in place and dragging him roughly to his feet. He struggled little, staring off into space at the realisation as to what his life would be now. Labour until the day he died, if he was lucky.

The auctioneer moved on to the next Faunus without a second thought. He looked down at the next one, a girl barely twenty shivering in fear.

"Here lords and ladies we had a mouse Faunus, creatures known for their excellent handy work. Perfect for the more intricate jobs needed done if you lack the servants to spare. Now then, we'll start a little higher now that your pockets have been opened: three hundred lien.

Gain the calls started up, rising higher and higher than Blake would have thought in her inwardly hysterical mind. Was eight hundred lien really what this woman's life was worth?

Apparently so, as that was what she was sold for, and as she was carried off she begged to be set free. That she didn't want to be taken.

She was silenced with a slap to the mouth.

Again, the man stepped up to the next one, but this time he frowned.

He motioned to one of the guards, and with her enhanced hearing Blake overheard their whispers

"What is this one doing here? its arms are broken… now we can't sell this one, we can't risk insulting them. Get rid of it."

He turned back around to the nobles above with a light and charming smile.

"My apologies sirs, it would seem one of the goods have been damaged, we will be sure to take it off your hands."

The Faunas, a lizard of some sort, tried to rise suddenly, shouting and begging as she was grasped by the hair and pulled off the stage. All the way back down the tunnel he screamed and begged, and Blake wasn't sure what is fate would be, back to the mines, or a quick death.

Then the shadow of the human fell onto her.

She tensed for a moment, before straightening as much as she possibly could in her kneeling position and stared up at the man in the eye defiantly.

She didn't bat an eye, probably used to dealing with the same act many times over. She still did it however.

"Here we go ladies in gentlemen, back on track. This girl here is a youthful one, nearly into her adulthood. A cat-Faunus. See those ears? They're not just for show." He reached for them, but Blake pulled back, glaring at him with as much venom as she could muster. He shrugged like it was nothing.

And it was, what could a slave on auction surrounded by armed guards possibly do?

"There are also some impressive eyes to be seen here, golden, round one moment and slit the next, night vision is a valuable trait." His hands lashed forward, one gripping her chin and the other into her mouth. She nearly gagged at the man's gloved hands.

"Sharp teeth, canines, or I suppose we should call them cat-nines." a round of laughter that made her snarl up at him. He pulled away and faced the crowd. "She's well-built too folks, plenty of work in the mines and healthy enough to be of use. She could be of any use to you. Now, we'll start at the bidding at-"

"One thousand lien."

Silence reigned as a feminine voice rang out from above. Blake blinked, but from where she was kneeling she couldn't see who had said it.

The auctioneer blinked, before regaining his composure quickly. "Well this is a surprise, starting right off with an impressive sum. Will anyone compete?"

"Eleven hundred lien." a gruff man grunted.

"Ah, Lord Winchester, back again I see, still buying for your son?"

"I am, he broke the last one."

"Well then a good thing we have more as-"

"Twelve hundred lien." The feminine voice called out again.

A pause, and the man scowled.

"thirteen hundred.

"Fifteen hundred

"Sixteen hundred-

"Two thousand lien."

The lord frowned. "Twenty-one hundred lien."

"Twenty-five hundred lien." The repose fired back easily.

Lord Winchester said nothing for a moment, before growling, and withdrawing his hand.

Blake watched it all with wide eyes, as two nobles, two strangers competed for the ownership of her life in sums of lien she would never even dream of in her lowly slave life

"And there we have it," the Auctioneer applauded. "The fourth specimen, the cat-Faunus, sold to Lady Weiss Schnee."

Blake froze.

 _Schnee!?_

Blake struggled against her chains frantically. No, no this couldn't be happening. Anyone but the Schnees! Blake had heard horror stories about the noble family, and their treatment of Faunus being the most brutal and cruel among all others.

Please gods be anyone but a Schnee!

At the very idea Blake's struggling grew, but it was for naught as two armed men moved to take her off stage. The sword was freed and they gripped her arms on either side. She didn't stop struggling, kicking and screaming a slew of profanities, words she wouldn't ever usually say.

But she was afraid.

She was terrified.

Blake was going to die. She knew this. If a Schnee was the one buying her she could only imagine what it was for; sport, experimentation, intense labour.

Anyone of those would be bad for a regular noble.

The Schnee would kill her.

So she kept struggling, even as the men yanked her chains and kicked her to the ground, as they beat her and dragged her away into the tunnels for transport.

She struggled as her body scraped across the ground and she struggled as she was hoisted up into a box.

A box!

It was barely big enough to hold her, a wooden crate with a single hole for air to keel the produce alive. That's what she was, produce for a Schnee to use at their leisure.

Blake winced at the position she was in, hunched over and curled up so badly that is she wasn't a Faunus she might have broken her spine. Her shackles hadn't been taken off, and they still dug into her skin.

She focused on that pain instead of her fear as the box moved, lifted so that she fell against the side uncomfortably.

They were moving her.

Where to she wasn't sure, but likely to a carriage to bring her back to the Schnee residents. Blake had heard about it; a fortress in the snowy mountains of Atlas, cut off from the rest of the world less for a single road. Far enough away that a slave with nothing but the clothes on her back wouldn't escape, freezing to death instead.

Blakes' eyes burned with tears that threatened to spill forth.

She didn't want to die. Not now, not when she'd done nothing wrong.

She focused on the pain again.

Focused on that and bit down on her fear. She wouldn't die quietly. If they were going to kill her she'd look them in the eyes when they did. A last show of defiance for a girl who had been a slave all her life.

And so she waited, and she waited, as the crate moved to and fro. She waited and waited as the icy cold… lessened?

She waited and waited for minutes, hours. What was that smell? Salt?

She waited and waited as her little box was cramped in somewhere dark; she waited and waited as the wooden floor beneath her rocked sickeningly. She waited and waited as her stomach churned as she fought the urge not to be sick, the other thing preventing it, her empty stomach.

Blake waited as the air leaking into the box grew warmer, warmer than she'd ever felt in the freezing grips of Atlas.

Where was she?

She had been awake for… how long? Blake's eyes fought not to drift shut. It had happened already, a few times. Had she fallen asleep already? How many times?

They closed again, and Blake fell into a tired slumber.

Only to be jolted away as everything around her shook.

Blake tensed as her crate hit sold ground, and if it weren't for the shackles she would have been able to prevent falling face first into the side.

As it was, the smack bloodied her nose.

Then, suddenly, there was a creek, and the front of the box split. Blake squinted and recoiled as a sudden burst of light shot into her vision, but before she could think about it a rough hand gripped her collar and dragged her out.

She fell onto the floor painfully and glared angrily up at a new man she'd never seen before.

"Come on," he grunted, "Stand up already."

Blake didn't, her anger making her defiant, or, if you were looking at it another way, stupid.

The man above her rolled his eyes and reach down, dragging her to her feet. She stumbled, but managed to catch herself before she fell again.

She bit her lip as her scratched and bloodied feet ran across cold stone floors. Where was she

Her eyes had a moment to look around. There was candlelight, not sunlight.

How had that blinded her? Had she really been in that box for that long?

She got a good look at the man aswell, a portly fellow with a grey moustache. He inspected her with an appraising eye, and gestured for her to sit on a stool another servant had placed beside her.

At the risk of being dragged roughly again she hesitated, but when the man didn't; simply waited she did as she was motioned, sitting down.

"Alright las, let's get a look at you."

She froze, preparing for the worse, only to breathe a sigh of relief as he kneeled to look at her feet. She winced when his calloused hands ran over the cuts and bruises, but kept quiet as he hummed to himself.

A stray thought entered her mind.

She could kick him. Where he was kneeling now would be the perfect chance for it, straight to the face, even with her injured feet it would be enough to-

She pushed that thought back. It was idiotic. She didn't know where she was, and there were others here to stop her if she tried to make a run for it. No, she needed to stay as calm as she could. Assess the situation, see what would happen.

A minute later he nodded and stood up.

"Alright then, it doesn't look too bad. The rest of you seems alright too." He waved a hand at a couple of servant girls. "Take her to be cleaned. Have old sawbones look at her cuts, make sure they won't be a problem later on."

Blake sucked in a breath from the order, at the word sawbones, but a servant girl saw her face and shook her head.

Not an actually sawbones then, or at least not for her.

Blake let herself be led by the arms, a sudden bout of exhaustion taking over her body.

Her joints were stiff and her body ached.

Whether it was tiredness or pain, the next time she blinked she was sitting on a table, with a woman in front of her.

"So you're the one then?" she asked, mostly to herself. No humans actually wanted to speak to a Faunus unless necessary, especially not for small talk. "You look relatively intact at least, not much we can do about the cuts except clean and bandage them, but it should be enough."

The sawbones raised a pair of scissors and grinned menacingly. Her pink hair doing nothing to take away from the terrifying grin. "Stay still will you, and let doctor Peach do her work."

Blake's eyes widened in fear as the small blades moved closer, fear of a cut, fear of more pain.

She swallowed when it didn't do that, but instead moved on to a roll of bandages, and breathed a fractured sigh of relief.

The sawbones heard her, and grinned wider. She chuckled to herself and held up a bottle and cloth. "Now, this is going to sting, a lot, try not to scream alright?"

The Faunus didn't have any time to respond as the damp cloth ran over her wounds.

She whimpered, clenching her eyes shut and whistling through her teeth. Her nails dug into her palms.

Peach hummed. "Impressive. I thought you'd be writhing a lot more. You might want to be careful though, I'll have to clean those wounds on your hands now as well, it'll be trouble to use them if it goes to deep.

Blake didn't answer, but gave a feeble nodded, instead opening her hands wide and pinning them to the table as hard as she could.

The sawbones was precise, methodical and quick as she scrubbed the openings on her body, cleaning way blood and dirt that had built up recently, as well as cleaning out some older wounds. That was messy to look at, the yellowing scabs having to be peeled off had Blake shaking in agony, but she managed to keep her mouth shut, somehow, through it all. What mattered was that they were cleaned, and shortly after Peach unrolled the bandages, carefully wrapping them around Blake's body. On her legs, her arms, her stomach, back, feet and hands. It wasn't a ridiculous cast but did its job at covering the damage.

The pink-haired woman nodded.

"There we go, all done. I have to say again; I'm impressed expected a lot more noise. Good for you."

Blake didn't answer, to busy panting heavily as the awful stinging wracked her body.

"Sit there for a moment," the doctor ordered. "You'll be walking in a few minutes, be sure to rest your feet when you can."

"R-right." she breathed and flinched when she realised she'd spoken. She looked up hesitantly to see the sawbones staring at her for a moment in surprise.

"Huh…" Was all she said, before turning to do other work on the counter against the wall.

As the woman had said, there was a knock on the door a few minutes later.

The dark-haired girl turned in time to see a short round man with bright eyes. He wore a suit or something Blake didn't know the name of.

"Ah, Klein," the doctor smiled. "Right on time, she's all patched up, so I'll leave the rest to you."

"Very good," the human male hummed. His eyes fell to Blake, who caught the message and got off the table, standing up. She ignored the sharp pain that lanced through her heels. "Come along then." He said, turning his back to her and walking out the door.

Blake blinked at the causal order, and without thinking trotted along to catch up to him.

She followed him from a few steps behind. Now that she had a proper chance the Faunus' eyes roved over everything she could.

It was a wide hallway, pristine and white, but not in a way to suggest cleanliness, rather like it hadn't been used. But what did she know? It was honestly just a guess. It was still cleaner than anything she'd ever seen in the mines.

The walls and ceiling were marble, and the chandeliers above were crystal. Outside, the windows were-

She stopped. Staring outside.

The man, Klein, paused as he noticed her hesitation.

He raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

Blake just stared, not even processing that a human had spoken to her, asked her a question instead of just beating her forward. She was too focused on what lay outside. Green.

It was a field of green.

She swallowed. "We're not in Atlas, are we?"

"We are not," the butler confirmed. "The servants have been prepping for our arrival for the last fortnight. we arrived in Vale just hours ago. Mistress Schnee has been very busy since then.

"M-Mistress Schnee?"

"Indeed. Her father has allowed her to take residence in his personally own mansion here in Vale. Come, I will explain it to you as we clean you up."

"Clean?"

He shot her a look. "Yes, clean. You may have your wounds cleaned, but one look at you hair and nails showed you've never been bathed in your life." His nose wrinkled, perhaps involuntarily. "And I thought it polite not to mention the smell."

Blake blinked, taking a sniff of herself. What was he talking about? She had far better smell than any human and there was nothing reaching her nose. How could he smell her?

She took a sniff. Nothing.

Klein hesitated as if he realised something. "You're not completely like a cat when it comes to water are you?"

She… didn't really know how to answer that.

She would find out minutes later however, when she was brought into another room she didn't recognise, and handed over to a new group of servant girls.

Klein told her that he would return shortly, and the girl got to work on Blake.

And when she meant work, she meant scrubbing her from head to toe.

Apparently, she was too bandaged for a bath (Which Blake wasn't even sure what that was, but it was their words, not her) so instead they took soapy warm water and brushes to scrub off the grim from her skin, while another girl ran her fingers through her hair.

It was thorough, but not gentle, and Blake winced for what felt like the hundredth time that day as they worked at her dark hair and not too kind with her ears. Pulling and tugging on the cat appendages to pull out the cakes of dirt.

She couldn't complain though, even if she wanted to, her body felt cleaner and lighter than it ever had before.

The whole thing took around ten minutes, and when it was done, Klein returned with something in his arms. He saw her naked form, and regarded her with a one over, more interested in a job done then anything attractive about her. Although she doubted any human would care, not with her ears for all to see.

He smiled at the servant girls. "Well done, you can return to your duties now, I can finish here."

The women bowed and hurried out of the room without a word. Leaving only the two of them in the steam-filled room.

"Here, put these on."

Blake regarded them warily. "What are they?"

Klein raised an eyebrow. "Clothes." He said simply.

Blake blushed in embarrassment. Right, of course, what did she expect?

She was handed the clothes, and with a little bit of embarrassment, turned her back to the butler to put them on. A few seconds later she looked down at herself. They… it was a short and pair of pants. Pure white in colour. She knew why of course; slaves were forbidden from wearing anything but the standard clothing. No dresses, no jewellery, only things practical for work. Things that could be easily recognisable so that they could not escape or run unnoticed. The white on the other hand was more simple: the colours of the Schnee household. Not the full colour, but enough that she wouldn't stick out.

"Those clothes are only temporary," Klein told her as she turned back. "Once the mistress has arranged everything we will find you some proper wear.

She nodded slowly. Whatever that meant she couldn't be sure. Would she be put back in rags? Who could tell?

The human opened the door and Blake followed him out.

"Now," he said. We have one more thing we need. Follow me."

She did as she was told dutifully; taking in the route they took as she did. It might be important to run if worst came to worse, and she expected them to when the Schnee felt the urge to get rid of her. a good five minutes later (just how big was this place?!) they reached their final stop. It was a door at the end of the hallway, where the first man she'd met stood, running a hand through his moustache. Klein greeted him with a wave.

"Peter! Have you got it?"

"I do my man, right here."

The stout man reached behind him and pulled out a collar.

Blake was suddenly rooted to the floor.

The two humans shared a look.

The butler spoke. "I would advise you to put this one."

"I-I…"

She tried to protest, but the words wouldn't come.

"Come on then," the man named Peter said with a cheer she certainly didn't fear. He walked up to her with it still in his hands; Blake's eyes didn't leave it. "It is lawfully required by the royal families that all nobility owned slaves must be wearing a collar showing their masters."

That made her swallow. It meant she couldn't beg even if she wanted to. This _was_ happening. She couldn't prevent it. Her eyes took in every detail they could.

It was a metal collar, smoked black and lines with… jeweller- No, Dust. The collar was lined with Dust for some unbeknownst reason all around the edges, four different colours, red, blue, yellow and green. And on the front, in the centre, where her throat would be covered was a snowflake, the emblem of the Schnee family.

The man quickly lost patience, and with a grunt, stepped forward. Blake tried to step back, but grabbed by her arm and pulled forward.

The collar clamped shut around her next with a metallic click.

"There we go. That wasn't so bad now was it?"

She glared at him hatefully. Wasn't so bad? No, it wasn't painful, but it was a mark now, a mark that she wasn't free, that her dreams and hopes of a life away from the mines had been dangled right out of reach only to be yanked away.

He saw her look. "Oh, and one more thing." He stepped back to get a better look at her form. "That collar had another purpose; the Dust is there for a reason. Now, you're probably very rebellious in this stage of your life lass, but we cannot tolerate that in front of the lady, so, while your thoughts are free, if you make an aggressive move towards Mistress Schnee, the collar will know and…"

There was a sudden crackled next to her non-Faunus ears, and Blake's eyes shot open as pain shot through her body. She gasped, all of her muscles seizing up. She fell to the floor with no hands to break her fall.

She panted, gasping for breath as her body shivered. There was the pain, right there and it _burned_!

It stopped the next moment, as suddenly as it began. The pain stopped, no, the primary pain stopped, but the jolt had left her body sore. She glared up at the man named Peter who hadn't even batted an eye.

"That will happen." He said, and it took her addled brain a moment to realise he was finishing his warning. _This_ was what would happen if she misbehaved in front of the Schnee?!

Klein sighed. "Was that really necessary Peter?"

"Of course it was!" he said. "the lass needs to know the consequences, better safe than sorry."

The butler didn't look convinced, but sighed again anyway.

"Very well, I think that is all. You may leave."

"Righto."

Klein watched as the other man marched down the hall for a few moments before bending down to help take to her feet.

"Terribly sorry about that, Peter doesn't seem to realise when he's gone too far. He's old-fashioned like that."

Blake didn't know what to say to that, so she said nothing.

The man brushed her down before nodding. He opened the door and led her into the room. There… was a bed on one side, large enough for two, even three people and curtains draped on all sides. There was a window taking up nearly the entire farthest wall. The room was the same marble as the others, but there seemed to be a blue shine to the floors. Klein turned and looking her in the eye.

"Right then, a little advice then before you begin. Lady Schnee is under a lot of stress at the moment with this new transition, so be sure to use your manners and speak appropriately. Also, make sure to listen carefully to her instruction, they may be oddly specific sometimes but considering what your new vocation is it is imperative that you listen well, and finally, do not bring shame to the Schnee family, either on the lady's behalf or anyone else. She does not need the added trouble."

He straightened up. "Now, then goodbye, I will see you again soon."

"W-wait!" she called out, too late, as the door closed shut behind him, leaving her standing in an empty bedroom.

She stared at it in confusion.

New vocation? As a Slave he meant, surely, but… then it wouldn't exactly be new. Manners? She doubted she would even be allowed to speak to the noble without pains of death hovering over her and shame? Once again, she was a slave, what was she supposed to be representing other than cheap workforce?

None of those questions were answered by the empty space, and soon Blake was inspecting just where it was she'd been landed.

The whole room looked… new. Was it really true that no one was living here? That servant's had needed to prep it? From the thin layer of dust on the desk in the corner, it might have been. She hesitantly made her way over to the bed, running a hand over it. It was… soft.

That was as far as she got when the door clicked open behind her. She spun around and froze stiff as a girl with white hair entered the room.

She wore a fine white dress down to her ankles, meshed with expensive fabrics, and hair tied back in a delicate ponytail.(That drapped off to the side?)

The Schnee's eyes landed on her and blinked in surprise.

"Ah! You're here, good." The noble said, moving over to the desk and setting down a book, or a ledger of some sorts that she had been carrying. "I've been swamped with work at the moment, so if you will just give me a moment before-"

"Why am I here?" Blake bit out. It seemed that even with the collar around her neck, the flame of defiance still burned in her chest.

The noble blinked in surprise before a slight frown overtook her features. "Well…." She said. "I suppose I should have expected you to be a bit uncomfortable, what with our trip over the sea.

The sea, Blake had travelled over the sea in her box… That would explain the excessive rocking.

"No matter," she went on. "that can be resolved easily."

Blake tensed, bracing herself for the collar to start up again, her body locking in anxiousness.

Nothing happened.

Blake blinked, the Schnee noticed.

"What are you… never mind, come here."

The Faunas didn't move for a second, but w3hat was she supposed to do? It was a simple order from the white-haired noble, disobeying might lead to more trouble.

So, hesitantly, she approached the Schnee lady.

She was just a foot away from the Schnee, close enough to reach out and touch her.

She didn't.

The noble looked Blake up and down, to the bandages on her feet to the collar on her neck. Next, she reached out, fingers just grazing her cat ears. Blake flinched back, and the noble paused, before withdrawing her hand. She hummed, or was it a cough?

"Well," she said after a moment. "You seem to be in good health. That is good. What is your name."

She blinked. "I… what?"

The human rolled her eyes. "Your name, to what I must refer to you as, what is it?"

"…Blake… it's…. Blake."

There was a pause.

"And?" the Schnee pressed. "What is your last name?"

"I don't have one… or if I do I don't know it."

She blinked. "Ah…. Well, that is fine then. Blake, it's a… nice name?"

Blake didn't respond, watching the human noble warily. She didn't know what to make of this, or even if she wanted to. What kind of noble concerned themselves with the name of a slave? _Why_ would they concern themselves?

The Schnee nodded to herself. "Right, well, I am Weiss Schnee of the Schnee family. In public, you should refer to me as either Lady Schnee or Mistress Schnee. I suppose in the privacy of our home, you may call me Weiss, at least in front of Klein. It should make it easier to settle into your new job."

"I… what? I don't understand!" Blake suddenly cried. "What are you talking about?! Why am I here?!"

She paled suddenly and recoiled. Why had she yelled? The Schnee was going to punish her for that, maybe kill her even for her- why did she look surprised.

Weiss blinked. "You weren't told?"

Told? What had she not been told?

"I purchased you in Atlas for the sole reason of filling a position I don't trust anyone else to fill."

Blake watched her with suspicious eyes. "What… position would that be?"

Weiss smiled, at Blake didn't realise until a second later that it was there to soften the bombshell that she dropped.

"To be my bodyguard."

* * *

...

 **So that's the first chapter. I hope you get a feel for what the tone of this story is going to be. there are going to be some light moments, and some dark moments but I hope that either way you'll enjoy whats to come.**

 **AS it is, you can read this, give criticism on what you like and don't like, and if you decide you want more you can check out my other story on RWBY.**

 **For now though, that's it.**

 **If you liked it, be sure to follow, Favourite and Review.**

 **Hope to see you next time.**

 **Bye!**

 **P a treon . com(slash) WSpectre**


	2. Chains: Chapter 2

Blake awoke with a gasp.

Her breath was strangled as her eyes snapped open and she stared at the ceiling.

Where was she? What was happening? Oh gods, she needed to get back to work before-

She blinked. Wait a minute… that's right, she wasn't in the mines anymore. She was…

Blake locked around. Sitting up from… the floor. She blinked again and winced as she suddenly felt a stiffness in her neck. She rubbed at the pain with one hand and pushed herself up with the other.

The Faunus stood up, her ears flickering at the sound of someone else's breath in the room. She still didn't know where she-

Blake froze. Her body looked as her eyes widened and the memories of yesterday flooded back in full. It was at a good time too, as right in front of her eyes, on the bed she'd been lying beside, was a Schnee. The Schnee who had bought her, was now sleeping comfortably not three feet away.

That's right… the Schnee had told her to sleep here in the room with her, and Blake had been so exahsted from the events of yesterday that she hadn't much will to argue.

But now, she didn't know what to do.

Her hands trailed along the collar on her neck. The noble might have been defenceless, but Blake wasn't willing to test whether or not what that human from before said was true or not. Not at the moment at least.

She took a step back to take in her surroundings. The room hadn't changed overnight obviously, but with the sun only rising it made the room look a lot warmer.

Not more inviting, whoever had designed the room's decor clearly hadn't taken into account a homey feeling.

Suddenly her stomach grumbled, and Blake's hands fell to it. what had she eaten last?

Either way, the sound had been enough to cause the noble to stir.

The Schnee made a noise as her eyes fluttered open. She sat up, the sheets falling off her as she yawned.

She looked around bleary-eyed, and after a moment they fell to Blake.

" _Eek!"_ she cried, falling off the other side of the bed with a thud.

Blake stared. Had she just…

The noble shot up from the floor, suddenly wide awake. Blake had no idea what she was supposed to do, so of course, she just kept staring stupidly at the noble.

The Schnee coughed into her fist and looked away.

"Apologies," she said at last. "I forgot you were here." she stood up, and Blake looked away. The white-haired girl was only wearing a thin nightgown, and she didn't want to know what would happen if she looked at something she shouldn't have.

It was forbidden for commoners to touch nobility, what were the chances of punishment for slaves looking at an undressed noble?

It seemed it didn't bother the Schnee however.

"Well, I suppose I best get ready for the day."

Blake's stomach rumbled again, louder this time.

"… and get you something to eat."

Wait, what?

* * *

…

…

* * *

Ten minutes later, Blake followed hesitantly behind a now fully clothed noble. The Faunus was still wearing the simple white clothes she'd been given yesterday, but was finding the new shoes she'd been told to wear quite uncomfortable. It was actually getting a bit annoying to walk in them. They were too high off the ground. Her bare feet were better, she could feel where she was with them at least.

Anyway, as it was now Blake still found it an ordeal to navigate the mansion. Every hallway looked the same drab white. If it wasn't for the fact she had been led everywhere so far, she was sure she'd have been lost. Who even needed a home this big? What was the point other than to flaunt riches to other people? It's not like anyone else live her other than the Schnee and her servants.

That point was enforced when they reached the dining room. Blake took in the whole thing from where she stood: a white room –of course- with a chandelier hanging over them. In the centre was a long wooden table. Which, wasn't that odd, Blake knew that most people liked to eat of something that _wasn't_ the floor, even is he'd never really had that luxury herself.

What was odd, was the twenty or so chairs on either side of the table. This… was a place meant for banquets, but with just two of them, it looked quite empty.

The noble made her way to the head of the table and sat down when Blake didn't follow she frowned.

"Well?" she said. "Are you going to take a seat?"

Her? She wanted her to sit with her?

"Um…" Blake tired, moving towards the seat at the other end of the table.

That just made the other girl scowl deeper. "Not there." She said "sit next to me, I can't very well speak to you all the way down there."

Right, what was she thinking, this Schnee had already shown that she wasn't normal. Blake wasn't sure if that was more or less comforting for her current situation.

She could very well just be insane.

Still, she took the seat on her right and sat down. Unsure what next to do.

The white-haired girl nodded and clapped her hands twice.

Blake gave her a questioning look, before all of a sudden the doors on her left burst open. The Faunus' eyes widened as four servants wheeled trays upon trays of food out onto the table. Her mouth began to water at it all.

"Breakfast." Her new owner supplied helpfully. "I thought I could explain to you the situation while you ate, considering no one thought it polite to do so yesterday." She said the last bit while sending a pointed glare to the man who had just entered.

"My apologise Miss Schnee," Klein bowed. "With everything we had to attend to yesterday unfortunately it slipped my mind."

She waved her hand. "Fine, I'll forgive it this time. Onto today, why don't you tell our new resident what it is we will be having for breakfast?"

The short man smiled.

"Of course my lady. For this morning we have an assortment of fruit from both local Vale as well as Vacuo bananas. The chefs here have broth you toasted waffles with honey syrup, numerous eggs, as seems the norm in Val and a range of freshly squeezed juices, on the meat platter is pork sausages, fried. Mushroom and bans. He glanced at the Faunus. They also thought it necessary to offer fish as well. I suppose you can decide what to think of that yourself."

"Well," the noble smiled. "that's good. It looks like our cooks are effectively in order."

"Indeed," he said. "It may also be advisable to take on some local hands. Hiring Vale inhabitants into our employment would make them understand that our residence here is less temporary than they might assume.

"Who? The commoners or the nobles?"

"Both ma'am"

"Well, get on that then, leave me with Blake will you?"

The butler hesitated for a moment, eyes falling to the dark-haired girl again before nodding. "Very well. You need only call if you require me."

With that, he turned and left the room along with the servants as they set the food on the table. They bowed too, and retreated back to the kitchens, leaving only two people in the room.

Blake's eyes were glued to the food in front of her. This… this was more food she'd seen in her entire life! As in, if she thought back to all the food she'd eaten while working in the mines it might reach about half of what was laid on the table in front of her.

The Schnee saw her look and her lips twitched upwards. "Well? You can start whenever you wish."

The Faunus gave her a suspicious look, but the noble had already started herself, daintily eating with a knife and fork.

She _definitely_ wasn't using those.

But… could she be sure this wasn't a trick? That this wasn't poisoned somehow, or she wouldn't be killed right after? She wasn't sure, but it seemed likely that this girl just wanted to see her squirm. It would make sense from a sick, twist point of view. Get your victim's hopes up and crushing them would be even better.

She wasn't going to fall for that!

Her stomach grumbled.

Although… maybe it would be better if she went out on a full stomach. It… it only made sense anyway right? If she was full she'd have the energy to fight back.

Blake reached for the closest thing she could see, a waffle, she took a sniff. It didn't _smell_ poisoned. She wondered what it tasted like. Her stomach did too.

She sighed. _Might as well_

She took a bit.

And her eyes widened as taste exploded in her mouth. She groaned in bliss as the new and strange flavours ran over her taste buds. It was so sweet!

This was it, if she died now she knew she might n0t even notice. But while she was at it.

Blake swallowed, then took another bite. The same burst of tastes reached her senses. Oh god she needed more.

Weiss watched in a morbid sort of interest as the Faunus assaulted the food in front of her in a rush. She tried everything she could get her hands on, devouring every scrap she could as if it would be her last meal.

It probably would if she kept it up, early fit to burst.

She took the opportunity to speak at last

"I suppose you have been curious as to why you are here then. You must have been confused last night."

Blake paused for a moment and nodded quietly before the food called to her again and she dug right back in.

"Right," the noble said. "Well, I suppose we should go over things again." She placed a hand on her chest. "I am Weiss Schnee, second daughter of the Schnee line. Since we will be 'working' close together it would perhaps be better if you referred to me by my first name, and I as the same to you of course, for convenience."

Again, a slow nod.

Blake wasn't sure where she was going with this, but iffood was on the table, she might just listen.

* * *

…

…

* * *

Weiss let out a little huff as she watched the Faunus girl continue to devour her meal for what had felt like the last ten minutes. Where was it all going?

She supposed she couldn't blame her, it was probably the best food she'd ever eaten, but did she have to be so … so messy about it?! Honestly, using your hands? Filthy!

She seemed to be listening though, even if it was with half her ears. Or, did that still count two? She supposed that was good enough.

"As I spoke last night, you are to fill an occupation that has recently opened up. As my bodyguard."

 _That_ got a reaction. It wasn't the one she'd been expecting though. She'd thought the girl would gasp, look at her with starry eyes and thank her, who wouldn't? Serving a noble, but also being raised out of slavery for it? It was a gift.

Instead the Faunus stopped eating and glowered at Weiss suspiciously. She didn't say anything however; probably wary Weiss would punish her for speaking out. Well she needed to get rid of that illusion.

"You are free to speak your mind," she said. "I will not fault you for speaking how you like in my presence."

It would have been counterproductive otherwise.

The dark haired girl obviously doubted that is her face was anything to go by, but after a moment she didn't speak.

"Why would you need a bodyguard, and me of all people as one?"

"Oh, that's a simple one," she smiled. "You see, as it is I have just moved to vale under my father's wishes. No doubt Klein as told you how my father is testing me to run my how estate and affair. This is that test. And since it is in vale… you are aware of the political climate her in Vale.

Blake gave her a deadpan stare. "No I didn't really hear much about the outside world of the mines."

"Ah." That… made things harder to explain. She shook her head. "Well, the basics are that Vale and Atlas are in a time of relative peace, with both monarchs working close together to maintain that pace. Since I am a noble on foreign soil my actions will be scrutinised and compared to the rest of Atlesian nobility. There are also many people who are against the crown and as such against peace. If I was harmed or framed for something it could put that in jeopardy. The accusations I can handle, but actual danger is, well, dangerous. That's where you come in."

Blake frowned. "Me? But, I'm sure you have plenty of guards working for you. Any of them could do it and they're probably better trained than me. No, they're definitely better trained than me. I'm a miner!"

"But you're a Faunus," Weiss countered.

Blake's frown deepened. "I'm a Faunus," she agreed. "How does that change anything?"

Weiss hummed. "Training can be given to anyone, with enough time I could most definitely find someone capable of stopping a frontal assault on my person. But you have something Humans don't; heightened hearing, enhanced smell. Sharper eyes, night vision, faster reflexes and instincts. A human soldier couldn't even hope to have that to help them. You do."

"And you plan on using my traits to your advantage." Blake finished.

"Well I wouldn't say _use_ ," Weiss swerved. "You would be working for me just like anyone else."

Blake didn't look impressed. "And the collar? That's just for decoration then?"

"It's the law!" The noble frowned. "I can't go against that even if I wanted to."

" _If_ you wanted to, as in you don't."

Weiss frowned deeper. "I would be careful of what you say _Blake_. This isn't the thanks expected from someone when I save them from labour in the mines."

Blake rolled her eyes internally. Yeah, well it wasn't like she'd already spent seventeen years in them already.

"And what's to say this is any better? You say you want me as your _bodyguard_ but who's to say you won't decide on something else once you get bored?"

The Faunus blinked when Weiss scoffed.

"That's what you're worried about?" she sighed. "Very well then, if it makes you feel safer, you have my word that I will in no way harm you while you are under my employment."

Blake glared. "Like I would believ-"

" _Don't_ insult me!" she suddenly snapped. "My word is binding, I would not break it no matter the circumstances, so do not brush it off as nothing so easily."

The Faunus bit down on her lip, hard. What was she doing talking to a noble like that? She didn't have a death wish, so acting out so stupidly wasn't going to get her anywhere.

She stared down at her lap, chastising herself inwardly.

Weiss sighed again and ran a hand through her hair.

"This is not how I expected this to go." She admitted. "I do not aim to upset you Blake, and I am aware that this is as much as a transition for you as it is for me, but I am extending an olive branch to you. This is as good a chance as any for you."

She was right. Blake knew she was right and that's what hurt. To end up as property of some noble after spending her whole life a slave miner wasn't a good feeling. It was like having the keys dangled in front of her and pulled away again.

But she was right. This was the best chance she would get.

A bodyguard.

"Why me then?" Blake asked, meeting the noble's eyes. "Why choose me over the others? Or, why not chose a Faunus from Vale, or one already forced into fighting? You chose me, a miner instead of anything else."

Weiss was silent, holding the Faunus gaze for a minute before standing.

"Come," she said. "I have much I still need to do. You have had plenty to eat I assume?"

Blake stared after her, but when the girl started moving she was forced to follow. A frown was etched onto the Schnee's face

"I suppose the best thing I can do right now is have you get accustomed to the mansion. You will be with myself most of the time as per your status as my bodyguard but in the cases you are not , it would be inconvenient were you to get lost all the time."

"Couldn't… you just have someone do that for you? I'm sure there's plenty of servants who would show me around if you told them to."

"They would," Weiss agreed. "But they would not feel comfortable doing it."

Blake blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Working with a Faunus will be a new experience for my servants and staff. Considering your position most are unsure what to think of you."

"But," the Faunus pushed. "Couldn't you just force them to do as you say? It's not like they can say no."

Weiss frowned again, glancing back at Blake.

"I could, but why would I?"

She had no response for that.

The noble looked away, suddenly lost in her own thoughts with her frown still present, as if thinking back on an unpleasant memory.

There wasn't much Blake could think of saying, nor anything she wanted to say, but the silence was not a nice one, so she said the first thing that came to mind.

"So… what happens to all of that food?"

"Huh?"

She coughed embarrassedly. "It's just that there was so much more left. I barely touched a tenth of it. What happens to all that?"

Weiss gave her a puzzled look. "What do you mean? It gets thrown out of course."

Blake choked. "What?!"

"Well what else would happen? It's of no use at a later time. If we won't eat it there is no point keeping it." Weiss saw the look on Blake's face. "Why? what would you do with it?"

"Save it!" the Faunus gasped. "That was more food than I'd ever seen in my life! How much could be given to regular people instead of having so much that you don't even eat!"

"Is it really that much of a concern?"

"Yes!"

Whatever Weiss was going to say in response was cut off as a man hurried down the halls to meet them. He bowed deeply before speaking.

"Miss Schnee, the carriage has been prepared and the men are ready. If you would come with me I will escort you."

She nodded. "Very well, Come Blake, we can… pick up on that conversational topic later."

Blake blinked. "Where are you going?"

"Where are _we_ going." She corrected. "Into town. There is a market in Vale that I wish to visit, and it will give me ample opportunity to test just how good your senses are. Come on then."

* * *

…

…

* * *

When Blake had been told they were taking a carriage she hadn't been entirely sure on what to expect. Something of a moderate design maybe, practical, wooden or even metal might have been more along the lines of her own ideas.

What she got instead was perhaps the single greatest amalgamation of lien dumped into something unnecessarily in her whole life yet:

It was made from bloody silver and gold, with spindly, flowery designs in the corners and wheels themselves, with coloured stained glass and velvet seat on the inside. Pulling it was four white beasts dressed in their own garments displaying the Schnee crest.

Blake stared at the four-legged creatures.

A man, the one from yesterday, Port saw her staring. He walked up beside her and puffed out his chest.

"Do you see something interesting Lass?"

She flinched, more for the fact that he was so loud next to her ears rather than the fact that he'd put the collar on her neck and acted like nothing happened. He'd asked her a question though, and there was no sense in causing trouble at the moment.

"I've… just never seen these creatures before. What are they?"

He laughed. "These are horses girl. I suppose they don't breed many in a place like Atlas."

"They didn't," Weiss called as she approached herself. "I had a pair at my own residence, but only because we imported them from Mistral." She eyes them. "These ones are from there too, I hear the Vale variety are far more hardy. Is that right?"

"Aye, my lady." He nodded, brushing a hand through one of the… 'Horses' manes. "The ones in Vale are farm animals, and in battle, they're used as shock-cavalry. Big, heavy brutes with plenty of muscle. Slower though."

The noble hummed. "Is that why Mistral was renowned for their mounted-archery in the last war?"

"It is. Since the good men fighting were slower targets, Mistral had thought it was a good idea to just run circles around them and fire hails of arrows." He smiled beneath his moustache. "It worked too, but the old codgers didn't know anything about sieging Valean castles. And we have a lot of them."

"Interesting," Weiss smiled. "You'll have to tell me all about it sometime, I would love to hear it. Blake, what is it?"

The Faunus blinked between them in confusion.

"There was a war?"

Weiss smile dropped as she stared at her.

"Are… are you jesting?"

Blake flushed, but held her ground. "N-no, of course not. How would I know is two kingdoms fought?"

"It wasn't two kingdoms, it was all six!"

The Faunus just frowned. "There are six kingdoms?"

"Not anymore." Port huffed. "Come on now, best get this trip on its way shouldn't we?"

With that Weiss sighed, deciding to let it go for the moment and made her way over to the carriage as the steps were dropped down. She pulled up the hem of her dress and climbed in. she glanced back.

"Well?"

Oh, Blake was allowed in there too?

She didn't make to question it, hurrying in instead before they could change their mind. She climbed in and sat opposite if the noble, marvelling at how soft the eats were. The doors closed shut and out the window Blake suddenly saw the men the servant boy had spoken of:

There were twenty in all, wearing brightly coloured steel, plated head to toe and curved, sphere-like helms. They had sabres strapped to their sides and spears in hand.

"Why do you need me as a bodyguard again?"

Weiss scoffed, but didn't deign her with a response.

Blake tensed as the carriage finally began moving, a shunt she wasn't prepared for. It travelled slowly, allowing the armoured men to follow on foot on both sides.

It seemed all she'd be able to do was wait until they arrived.

She had two options: Either to look at the noble and perhaps start a conversation, and as the white-haired girls gaze turned out the window it didn't seem like she was open to one, or simply stare out at the land as they passed.

She chose the latter.

Blake had to admit, it was far nicer than Atlas, although that wasn't hard in her opinion. It was warmer, even in the carriage itself Blake could feel the warm but not unbearable air, the sun was out and bright in the sky and green hills rolled as far as she could see.

They were still on the Schnee's lands she realised after a moment. Al of this, acres upon acres in all directions belonged to the foreign noble.

Even Blake new that that was not a normal thing. What had happened for the Schnee's to get a hold of this place?

She let out a breath and sat back in her seat, at least allowing herself a moment to enjoy just how soft they were. Pah! Nobles had it good if this is what they had to look forward to all the time; food enough to stuff their bellies, the riches to do or go wherever they wished and the forces to guard them against any danger.

Blake could at least imagine what a life such as this one might have offered her.

Were she not a Faunus.

It was fleeting however, and left her mood soured once reality hit.

Even if this was a nice novelty, she was a slave, nothing more.

A few minutes later. (Or at least Blake thought so, she couldn't count.) they arrived on the outskirts of the town's market. They stopped, and the door was opened by one of the men.

Weiss glanced at her, and Blake realised it was an order to step out first. She did so without a word, and was instantly struck with… everything.

The sights, the sounds, the smells it was everywhere.

The colours of the buildings, brown wood, sand coloured brick and bright tapestries and banners of Vale. There were stalls on both sides of her, with clothes, jewellery, _food_ of all kinds with hundreds of people moving in every direction buying and selling and calling out to one another.

There were people's homes too, with second floors jutting out over the first floors and people conversing from one window to the next. This wasn't just some town.

It was the Capital.

Blake felt something bump her shoulder, and was pushed forward a little as the twenty guards encircled them. Weiss was already moving forward and the Faunus blinked.

Oh! Right, she was supposed to follow her.

She scurried to catch up, and fell into step beside the noble completely by accidental on her part, but what seemed deliberate on the Schnee's

People had noticed them – or, well they'd already noticed them, but they'd noticed _Blake_ specifically, for the fact that she was a Faunus walking with a noble – and were staring even from a distance.

"Now then," Weiss began. "I think it's about time I see just what all the talk is about regarding Faunus." She turned to Blake. "Well?"

"W-Well what?" she asked.

Weiss blinked before coughing into her fist. "Right, I need to tell you why we're here first don't I?"

That would help Blake thought, even if she didn't voice it.

"I am here to meet with someone in particular, but before that I wish to test out your Faunus abilities, so, I want you to carry out a few things from where you stand if you can, we'll work from there."

That… sounded simple enough, she still wasn't completely sure what she was supposed to do but…

She nodded.

"Right then." Weiss said, looking around. Her eyes found something and she pointed. "Tell me what they're saying."

Blake followed the hand and saw a group of three women talking among themselves next to a stall some twenty metres away. She… wanted her to tell her what they were saying? What was she supposed to do from here?

She glanced at the noble, who looked back expectantly.

Blake sighed. Well she could maybe…

Her eyes narrowed.

"They're talking about their sons," she said after a moment. Weiss perked up as her eyes flickered between the women and Blake. "The one of the left has gotten into an argument with his father, while the one on the rights has been flirting with the baker's daughter three streets down and she's not happy about that. The one in the middle thinks that her son drinks too much."

"Incredible," Weiss whispered in awe, and even some of the guards with them were looking Blake's way. "You could hear all of that?"

Her eyes narrowed. "No."

The Schnee turned to her in surprise. "Then what was-"

"My ears don't work like that," she said, aware that she'd interrupted her 'owner' but annoyed enough by this testing all of a sudden that she didn't care at the moment. "they pick up soft sounds, things humans physically can't hear. They aren't for listening to a conversation in a bustling crowd from such a distance." She glanced the Schnee's way, looking her in the eye to stress her point.

"I just read their lips. My eyes make things far cleared than yours can and I can pick up details in how people move if I try hard enough, like tenses in muscles. "Weiss stared for a moment before her eyes fell to the women thoughtfully. They'd begun to move on now.

"That is interesting." She said at last. "What is it your ears can hear then?"

Blake scoffed. "Your heart, if I listen close enough."

Weiss flinched at that, her hand rising to her chest instinctively before looking back at her. She cleared her throat.

"Well… I'd thank you _not_ to do that right now, even if I do believe that would be a useful thing to have… what about smell? Could you sniff out a certain food if I asked you to?"

Blake felt her nose twitch involuntarily as she grimaced. "I don't know." She admitted reluctantly. "there's' just… so much here, maybe if I had a little time to get used to it, but even then I don't actually _know_ what most f these foods are supposed to be, let alone smell like."

"Ah." She said. "I suppose that would be an issue. My apologies, I should have thought of that. No matter, I think we'll have plenty of time to let your nose grow accustomed to the smells here." she looked up at the sky. "Well let's go, I have a meeting with someone I must attend to now."

With that they moved again in a different direction towards what looked like some wide open space. Blake followed along as best she could inside their ring of armoured men.

"Who are you meeting anyway?" she asked.

Weiss shrugged. "I am not actually sure. He was recommended by my father, someone who can 'arrange things' as he told me. What was his name…?" she put a hand on her chin before clicking her fingers.

"Ah yes, Roman Torchwick I think."

...

 **Well that's the end of the second chapter. I want to move things along a bot slower than I'm used to, at least for the moment to build up these characters and the world around them, which is Remnant, but isn't.**

 **Also I don't know how someone even thought of this, but I got PM'd earlier in the weak because a reader noticed something I didn't mention. I mean, I could have just forgotten, or seen it as unimportant but for some reason they thought it strange I didn't mention it. So for confirmation,**

 **No, Weiss does not have her scar.**

 **Hopefully this is grabbing your attention, or at least you're interested in how characters will interact with each other. If so I hope you stick around.**

 **For now, that's all I have to say, But before I go I would like to thank people who have already followed, favourited and Reviewed. to get support for this story so doon is such a good feeling.**

 **Anyway, if you enjoyed this chapter too and you haven't already, Follow, Favourite and Review.**

 **I hope to see you next time.**

 **Bye!**

 **P a treon . com (Slash) WSpectre**


	3. Chains: Chapter 3

The building they entered was something of a new experience for Blake, though, at a time like this everything could fall into the category of new experiences.

It was a kind of… hall, not as in a corridor hall, bust a massive room with dozens of doors lining the walls to different places. On the far side a man stood behind some kind of greeting desk, and there were crowds of people going back and forth through the place. None had their own personal Guard like Weiss did though, and their eyes were drawn to the noble as she walked up to the man.

It was obviously a big deal judging by the stares and whispers from onlookers, and the man (greeter?) before them looked slightly nervous.

"Can I help you my lady?"

He asked politely.

Weiss nodded. "You can," she replied, and the way she said it made it sound like he should be thankful for that. "I am looking for a man with the name Roman Torchwick, I believe he conducts his trade here does he not?"

A-ah! Yes, he does madam, but, forgive me, mister Torchwick will only speak to those who have arranged proper meetings." The Schnee regarded him for a moment as he shifted under her look. Blake may not have been overly enthusiastic about her 'owner' but she could admit it was impressive to see a man taller than her quell under the nobles look.

"Inform him that the daughter of Jacque Schnee has come to see him. That should be enough of an appointment."

He swallowed "I see." He said before bowing deeply. "I will speak to him right away lady Schnee."

With that he hurried away, a sharp spring in his step.

That had been… odd.

Blake had expected some kind of respect when dealing with a noble but this?

Weiss saw her questioning look.

"Torchwick is a big part of this industry from what I can tell, he works with nobility a lot of the time and what he brings back is often a large sum. Considering what his business is however it makes things like accountability all the more costly for them. Actually, I think he's one of the heads."

"And… what business is this exactly?"

"Hm? Oh, right!" Weiss blinked. "Hold on, are you being truthful? You don't know? Please tell me you know."

Blake frowned. This was beginning to get tedious, being given that look of incredulity as if it was a shock she didn't know something about a _foreign_ country.

Weiss sighed. "Oh for… it's Merlot trading industry! They have centres in every kingdom!"

"So… they deal with trading?" Blake guessed.

The girl scowled. "They are involved in food, resources, amenities, weaponry, defence, labour and anything else you can imagine whether it be within the lands of a kingdom or across the sea." Weiss put a hand on her hip, and Blake suddenly felt like she was being lectured to. "The Merlot Trading industry is one of the most profitable organisations in all the kingdoms because of this, and is recognised by the four kingdoms as an essential part of everyday life for most residents. They employ thousands and offer their own resources and workforces to the kingdoms desires." She actually scoffed. "There are only a few industries they do not have their hands in, which makes them very powerful."

Blake bit her lip. The information was… welcome and perhaps it was useful for some people, but what stuck in her mind was.

"You say they deal in labour forces? Does that mean… people like me?"

Weiss nodded, but didn't look like it was something worth thinking about. Blake felt something burn in her chest.

"Yes, Merlot Trade is the second biggest suppliers of slaves in the world. It is a very profitable area too, there are always people looking for competent workers."

"And they pick people with no choice but to work?" Blake growled. She wasn't sure if Weiss noticed her tone, but she glanced back at her all the same.

"Of course, it's a great opportunity for them don't worry. They're fed, watered and have shelter, not to mention most are put to work on farms from what I've heard. I believe that they should be proud of their work serving the kingdoms"

Blake felt her jaw clench.

Hard.

She had plenty of things to say about _that_ but before she could the greeter came back.

He bowed low as Blake took a step away so she wasn't a part of their little talk.

"Torchwick has agreed to speak with you my lady Schnee. If you would follow me," he glanced at Blake, and she saw the way his face twitched. Perhaps it would be best to leave animal here."

Blake blinked.

Had… had he just said that? It… it had been so quick, so casual that the comment flew over her head for a moment and left her staring at the man.

Weiss didn't even flinch at it.

"I think it best for her to accompany me," she said reasonably. I have some personal investment in her you see."

He bowed again as if nothing was wrong. "Of course, but I should inform you that armed guards are not permitted any further."

"Of course." The Schnee waved a hand at the twenty or so armour men following them, and they suddenly saluted, standing straight and in formation as they moved to the side to wait.

The man nodded. "Very good, please follow me."

With that said Weiss did indeed follow the man. Her back was straight, her walk confident and her head held high. It was obvious she was intent on making an impression, one of regal professionalism. And that meant Blake was forced to follow too. It didn't stop Blake glaring holes into the back of the man's head.

This bastard called her an animal? The fact that he said it was bad enough, but the fact that he could get away with it?

Her ears flattened against the top of her skull as her eyes narrowed at him.

Blake didn't know how she'd get him back for it, but she would.

Or maybe she wouldn't judging from the warning look the Schnee had suddenly sent her way. She'd noticed her glaring and was looking her straight in the eye as they walked.

' _Don't try anything´_ the look said.

The Faunas looked away first.

Moments later they came to a door; it was wooden with golden trimmings around the edges. Blake baulked at it.

Who needed something like this anyway? Neither of the humans seemed to share her thoughts.

"Mister Torchwick is right beyond this door, for the sake of formality I must request that you keep your works polite and professional, and considering your… company I must also advise you to keep a careful watch on it."

She grit her teeth as Weiss nodded. "I understand."

"Very good." He said, and after one more disdainful look sent Blake's way he opened the door and stepped aside.

Weiss strode in and Blake followed quietly behind.

What she saw was just another mild surprise today:

The whole room was golden, or at least most of it, decorated in lavishness and expensive decor that probably cost somewhere in the millions. In the centre of the room was a low table, and two sofas.

They were wide with red velvet seats. On one was a man wearing a white coat and bowler cap, arms spread out behind him as he grinned lazily at them.

"Well, well, well, the daughter of Schnee really does grace me with her presence."

Blake tensed.

He'd only said a few words, but she already didn't like this man. No, it wasn't that she didn't like them, there was something wrong about him, something that made her instincts scream danger, that it was a bad idea to be near him.

Weiss apparently didn't feel the same way, and sat down on the seat opposite him.

Neither looked at Blake or offered her to sit, so she stood behind Weiss. It must have been the right move because neither seemed perturbed by it. Blake supposed she should feel proud with reading the room, but she didn't she wanted away from here.

"So it would seem," Weiss began. "It is a pleasure to meet you Torchwick."

"Please, call me Roman," he waved. "It's easier to get business done if my clients know we're on a first name basis."

"…I see." Weis said after a moment. "Very well… Roman. Will we discuss business then?"

"Depends on what business you're looking to get done really." He shrugged. "But yeah, if you have the lien we can provide."

She nodded. "A simple obtaining and transport of food and material should be enough for now," she said. "If you can provide a satisfactory service I will return for other transactions."

"Testing out the service huh?" he grinned. "Alright, I can see the value in that. I'm guessing you're not going to be managing our payment yourself."

"A man named Klein will be doing that," she said. "He serves me personally and as such as an awareness of my current costs."

"Quick and efficient, I like it. Anything else?"

"One or two things," she replied. "Transport deals as such, but we can discuss them as soon as I am sure this transaction is reliable."

"Hm, guess trust in the business is a little weaker with all the dangers on the seas. You know we can provide extra ships to guard the cargo from pirates if you're willing to fork over a little more."

"Not right now, but next time for sure."

He nodded and smiled again. Blake didn't like it one bit.

"Alright then, I'll admit this was a lot fast than I was expecting. Most big-wigs like to flaunt their lien before settling anything."

"I'll be sure to flaunt once I have a steady position here in Vale, don't worry."

He laughed. "We'll see, oh, by the way, there something I want to ask you before you go."  
She tilted her head a little. "And that is?"

Roman lifted the cane he'd been holding across his lap up until that point and suddenly pointed it in Blake's direction. "How much for her?"

Blake froze.

Weiss frowned. "I beg your pardon?"

"How much," he repeated. "For the Faunus?"

"Forgive me but this seems like an odd moment to question me on such a thing. This there a _particular_ reason you are asking?"

He shrugged. "She looks like she's got some meat on her bones. I know plenty of rich men and women who like that in the entertainment. The ears are a plus too for the added fun."

Blake bristled. "What type of fun is that?" she grit out.

Weiss' gaze suddenly snapped to her, and the Faunus was taken aback by the icy look Weiss sent her way.

Roman grinned wider. "She's got some fight in her, that's even better. Well kitty cat cause you asked so nicely, it's for hunting. A lot of people find sport in setting Faunus free on their lands and chasing them down again. Makes a lot of money for us too."

Hunting. Hunting!

Blake swallowed nervously.

He meant the type of hunting were Faunus would be run down by nobles with their bows and swords and chased by hounds. It was a death sentence purchase! One of the many miners would talk about in the caves, hoping that if they were ever sold it wouldn't be for that reason.

Her eyes flickered to the Schnee. She wouldn't sell her for that.

Would she? She'd said she was going to be her bodyguard, she needed her!

Right?

"My apologise Roman," the noble lady said at last. "But she is under my employment, not for sale you understand."

"I see, that's fine." He shrugged and gave a little wave to say he wasn't bothered. That just made her angrier, for him to act like her potential death wasn't something he should care about.

Because he didn't.

She didn't say anything though, Weiss' icy stare hadn't left her.

"Well, if that's all you should receive a letter of the transactions in a few days or so. Have your man, Klein was it? Look over the transcript when you get it." Weiss looked back to him. "Of course, thank you for your time Roman," she curtsied.

"No problem. I look forward to working with you in the future lady Schnee, if your anything like your father it should be profitable for us both."

Weiss nodded and without another word turned to leave. Blake followed hurriedly behind as looked back as the door closed.

Romans eyes were on her, and he was grinning wide.

It closed a second later and they made their way down the corridor. Well that had been a-

"If you _ever_ speak like that again," Weiss suddenly snarled, spinning around to face her and gripping her arm. "I will have you disciplined for it. You are to stay silent in the presence of important individuals unless I give you expressed permission to speak. Your words affect my reputation now, and I will not have it ruined because you cannot mind your manners. Is that understood?"

Blake nodded rapidly, throat closing up in shock. The sudden flip was terrifying, and the Schnee's eyes froze her soul.

After a moment she sighed and let go of Blake's arm. "At least it was not in the presence of another noble, and that he took it in good humour. If it had been someone with more sway, it may have been a different situation."

She snarled again. " _Do not_ put me in a situation like that again, do I make myself clear?"

"Y-yes." Blake managed to force out.

What had she been thinking? In all the novelty and newness of her current situation, she had forgotten a very clear fact.

Her owner was a Schnee.

And Schnee's were the most terrifying people a Faunus could meet.

"I-it won't happen again."

The white-haired noble let out a small huff, that suddenly viciousness vanishing as quickly as it had appeared. "See that it doesn't. Come, we have nothing else here for us in the city at the moment."

She nodded, but hesitated for a second.

"So… what's next then?"

Weiss looked back. "Next, it is time we commence our work to make you into a proper bodyguard."

* * *

…

…

* * *

Blake coughed as a fist crunched into her stomach, folding her like paper as she fell to the ground.

She clutched at her stomach and curled up on herself.

Her ears twitched and she barely had time to roll out of the way as a boot came down.

"Come on now lass," Port huffed. "The enemy isn't going to wait for you to get back up."

She staggered up to her feet and sent him a hate-filled glare as she worked to get her breathing under control.

Port wasted no time and was on her in an instant, sending a crushing right hook towards her face. She barely got her hands up in time to cover her face. It was useless though; the first hit as if her hands weren't there and sent her sprawling again.

"Don't use your hands for blocking," he instructed her as she tried to shake the stars from her eyes. "Use your arms. Firearms block hits, hands redirect them."

She didn't say anything in response, glaring again and getting to her feet.

The man nodded and moved in again.

Blake moved back in time to avoid the same swing as before, but was unprepared and so cried out when he stepped on her toes and barrelled his shoulder into her chest. She fell over and clutched her bare foot painfully.

He looked down at her.

"You're not moving fast enough. You Faunus have better reaction times than most, but you're too slow for them to actually be any use to you." He glanced at her feet. "Not to mention not wearing footwear gives people an easy target. How do you expect to move swiftly if you can't handle the terrain."

She growled under her breath at that, but louder she said. "All the shoes here are too tight."

"That's because the bugger gave you servants shoes," he laughed, 'bugger' referring to Klein judging from the numerous times he said it. Those two had an odd relationship. "You need a calf boot. Their bigger and will give you more roof until you can find something proper."

"Proper?" she looked up.

"We'll see what weapons you're best at using and base it off that. Now get up, I didn't say we were finished."

She opened her mouth to speak but dived to the side when Ports boot swung through the space her head had just been. She scrambled to her feet and raised her fists. He moved, and after seeing it so many times.

Blake still couldn't do much.

This man moved far too fast for his build. To be fair, he wasn't fat, Blake wasn't sure what was under that red coat of is.

But he was currently beating her into the floor, so she was going with fat.

She swung his right again, and Blake threw up her forearms this time like he'd said.

His knuckle crashed into her and she cried out as agony shot up her arm. She snapped away and cradled her arm but he didn't let up. The Faunus ducked under a left hook and stumbled back from another right. She was taken off guard however, when instead of another left he jabbed out fast, cracking against her nose as blood spewed.

"You bastard!" she cried as she fell again, hands covering her face as she tried to staunch the blood.

"You fucker!" she snarled between pained breathes, eyes burning into him. "You scum licking, dark-shad bastard!"

Blake didn't have the right mind to realise what she was saying to who, and if she had been she might have screamed at the realisation that she could be flogged for speaking to a man like him for that, maybe even worse considering her position.

He hummed instead. "Well it looks like we're done for the day. It's not much, but it's a start. I'll have a servant take you to Peach so she can make sure nothing's broken."

He clicked his fingers and a girl came to lift Blake to her feet. She didn't resist, taking the time to instead glare at Port as her nose dripped red.

She was carried out of the room as the man turned away and went about his business. She wanted to scream. She was supposed to go through that every day?!

When the Schnee had said getting to work on making her a proper bodyguard she'd thought she'd be fitted with armour and a shield and told to learn as she went. Instead the noble had instructed Port to train her up, scheduling two hours each day for one-on-one sessions.

That would have been fine maybe, if it was anyone but that man.

Saying he was merciless was putting it lightly. He didn't give her a second to breathe, assaulting her with overpowering strength speed and agility no man as stout as he should possess. The result of her first training session had now ended, with a bloody nose, aching arms and sore chest.

The only saving grace was that now she was going to see the woman who had patched her up before. Although, maybe that _wasn't_ a positive, judging by the way she'd seemed to enjoy her pain the last time.

She was brought to the infirmary, or whatever qualified for a single room and the servant left her as she entered.

The sawbones didn't turn to her but she did let out a little hum.

"So, how bad was it?" she asked. "Did Peter go overboard again?"

Blake didn't respond, taking a place beside the table instead as she waited for Peach to actually look at her. She wasn't really in the mood for friendly chatter anyway.

The doctor noticed.

"That bad huh? Well I wouldn't hold it against him, he's like that with all his men."

The woman made her way over to the Faunus, inspecting the bruises that had begun forming. She saw the way Blake scowled.

"Or do hold it against him, not like it matters much to me. You have another hour of this today with him right? And it's supposed to go like that every day?"

"…Yes."

Instead of looking sympathetic, Blake was surprised when the pink-haired woman snickered. "Oh I can tell already that you two are going to get on like a house on fire. Looks like we're going to be seeing a lot of each other."

She groaned at that. Or maybe it was from how the sawbones was pressing a finger against the lumps on her skin. Either way, the thought of having to take a beating from that man every day was…

"Relax," Peach laughed. "Every brat he trained went through the same feeling. You might have a little extra training with him that the rest of them do but hey, that just means you have plenty of opportunities to pay him back right?"

That… was true. If they were going to be fighting so much it gave Blake the chance for revenge! The more she learned the more she could pay him back for this! Her hands clenched into fists at the thought. Oh yeah, she's enjoy pummelling him into the ground.

The doc saw the look on her face and rolled her eyes, muttering something about it 'being too easy' under her breath.

"Well," she said after a moment. "There's not much we can do about the bumps apart from applying this." She said, holding up some sort of jar. There was a grey cream inside and Blakes' nose turned up at the smell.

"That's what I thought," She chuckled. "Smells bad, but it'll soothe the pain, or, numb it I suppose. I'll a put it one and then will have a look at…" she glanced at Blake's bloodied nose. "That."

The Faunus didn't even get to so much as nod before the sawbones dipped her fingers in the salve and rubbed it onto her skin. Blake winced at the cold feeling, and even more as it hit a few particular sore spots.

It wasn't exactly a nice experience, especially when the older woman reached under her shirt to finish the job running fingers along her abdomen and sides.

She shivered at that.

It was over mercifully soon though.

"Alright," she said after she wiped the stuff off her hands. "I need you to look up at the ceiling for me while I take a look at that, understand?"

Blake sighed but did as she was told, raising her head and keeping it there as Peach ripped her chin with one hand and inspected the injury.

She hummed to herself.

"From the looks of it… it's not broken. That's good at least, but it'll hurt for a while. I can make sure it doesn't make it hard to breathe or swell, but it'll be red for a while. Come on, let's get this over with."

'Getting it over with' turned out to consist of the doctor looking up Blake's nose and _scraping_ out the dried blood. It was painful. Very painful. Blake did her best to bear through it all, but she couldn't stop the pained whines that slipped through her clenched teeth. It took a mere five minutes, but felt far longer to the Faunus, her nerves tingling as she sat there.

In the end, Peach put a white patch on her nose that Blake obviously didn't know the name of and stood up.

"There," she said. "That should be fine for now. I know this is probably more of a wild hope considering Peters the one training you up, but try not to get punched in the face anymore."

She wiped her hands, flakes of dried blood falling off.

"You best get going back; Peter might extend the training session if you're late."

Blake nodded, getting to her feet and making her way to the door. The doctor might have said some kind of farewell as the door closed behind her but she didn't hear it, more intend on groaning as she thought about how she was going to get hit again.

She made her way down the halls back to the training hall, alone in the corridors she for a few servants who passed her with clothes or sheets in hand. They were still cleaning up and furnishing the place after all.

Blake stopped. There was a door opened ahead of her to the right, just slightly ajar. It wouldn't really have been a concern to her, but for the slight scratching on… something.

It couldn't hurt to take a look could it?

Cautiously Blake creped over to the door and peeked in. she blinked.

It was… some kind of study, with a wide window at the opposite side and a white desk to the left, candles surrounding it for light. Weiss sat in the chair, rapidly scribbling something down with some sort of feather in hand.

What was she doing?

Blake leaned in to try and get a better look, but the door decided it was feeling treacherous in that moment, and squeaked loudly.

Weiss' head snapped to her and she blinked.

"Ah, Blake, what is it? Did you need something?"

The Faunus flinched at the attention of the noble. Maybe she could excuse herself? She could say that she needed to go back to Port.

… Never mind.

"I-it's nothing," she protested. Damnit! Why was her voice suddenly unsteady? "I was just walking by and saw the door was open. I was curious and…"

She trailed off, but the noble simply hummed.

"Curious you say? About what it is I'm doing?"

"N-no I-"

"Come then," she interrupted. "You may as well see, it can't hurt."

Weiss motioned for Blake to stand beside her and after a moment's hesitation Blake knew it would be better to just do as she was told in this instance. No point defying the noble on such a simple order. She still kept about an arms distance between them. Not so much because she feared Weiss physically, but because it made her feel more comfortable.

Blake looked down at the desk. There was scattered paper everywhere, not what she expected from a noble, but one in particular – the one currently in Weiss' hands – caught her interest.

It was filled with black symbols she didn't understand. She said as much to Weiss, and it stung a bit to admit that she was incapable of reading.

Weiss simply waved it off however. "Do not worry," she assured. "Most commoners are illiterate too, it is not a thing exclusive to former slaves. In fact if Port is to believed most soldiers cannot read either. The higher ups can I think, for issuing orders and commands you see. Apart from that only nobility and scribes can read and write, as is needed for their tasks."

Blake nodded slowly. "I see."

Whether she actually did or not was up for debate.

"It's a letter," the Schnee went on. "To an acquaintance in Mistral. There are many things I need to do and reaching out to other families will be vital for that."

"I see." The Faunus said again, more out of politeness. Why would the Schnee need to speak with a noble in another… kingdom, was it? She wasn't entirely sure what counted as a kingdom yet.

After a moment, Weiss sighed and turned to face Blake fully.

"I would like to… apologise, for what happened earlier today."

The dark-haired girl looked at her with a startled expression. Weiss could see the shock on her face and coughed, perhaps a little guilty.

"I should not have reacted the way I did to your words with Torchwick. I understand that you are not entirely used to your position here yet. It was… as much m-my fault," Gods it sounded forced. "as it was yours at the time. Can you… forgive me?"

"I…" Blake stared. She wasn't really sure what she was supposed to say to that. It was an apology for how terrifying she'd been with her, but it had sounded like it had been dragged out of her. Then again, it wasn't like she could just refuse it, could she?

"It's all right Miss Schnee," she tried, keeping it formal like she's seen Klein do it. Maybe that would be better. "You're right. I don't really know how I'm supposed to act. And well, what he was saying..."

"Yes," Weiss agreed. "Hunting Faunus populations for sport is something I find particularly… distasteful. It is a waste to be sure."

Blake nodded, a little unsure if she was referring to a waste of life or a waste of resources. Either way, it _was_ better than she expected.

Suddenly, Weiss put a hand to her chin. And hummed in thought.

After a moment she looked up at Blake.

"It has occurred to me that as my bodyguard it is important for you to have a wide variety of skills. Simply being a brute would not do, even with your abilities." She nodded to herself. "I have decided. You must learn to read as well, as to make you more effective."

Reading? She… she was going to be taught how to read? Her, a slave? Was that even allowed? Was it possible? Who would teach her?

Weiss did not hear her internal questioning, still bobbing her head up and down as she stood, wandering over to a bookcase on the other side of the room. "Yes this will be important, perhaps invaluable depending on whether or not you can learn fast enough. I will arrange it to take place after your physical classes. An hour-long class should be enough. It can start tomorrow."

Tomorrow was there even anyone else in this place that could be available for that? She hadn't seen anyone else.

She voiced it allowed and Weiss smirked confidently, flicking her hair back. "I will teach you of course."

What?

"I am well suited for such a task, and I cannot leave the job of teaching you the written language to anyone else. It will also be an apt time to teach you proper etiquette too. Besides, it will allow me to fill my time with something other than going through correspondence and letters. It gets awfully boring after a while."

Blake wasn't listening, frozen still. She was going to be learning to read with Weiss.

Reading with Weiss.

Reading with a Schnee.

Stuck in a room with a Schnee for an hour.

Blake wondered. Had she done something in a past life to deserve this? Was she cursed?

Because this was going to be the end of her.

...

...

 **Another chapter done and we get into Blake's little workout, something she'll no doubt refer too as Ports eternal torment.**

 **For now that's it, and next week we'll be moving on to something slightly more tense. you'll have to wait and see what it is.**

 **What did you think of this one? A little more Wiess andBlake interaction, as well as Blake interacting with the other characters. did you like it? Hate it? Let me know.**

 **Well, all I can say right now is that if you liked it be sure to follow, favourite and Review if you haven't already.**

 **I hope you enjoyed it and stick around for the next one.**

 **Bye!**

 **P a treon . com (slash) WSpectre**


	4. Chains: Chapter 4

Blake groaned as her hand ached in discomfort. This was honestly worse than Ports beat-downs. It was the _worst_ thing she'd had to do since being her in Vale. How as this seen as desirable?! It was torture!

"Come on," Weiss ordered, standing above the Faunus seated at her desk. "You've been on the third sentence for the last two minutes."

She groaned louder. It didn't help that she'd just finished Ports sessions. She was tired and sweaty and wanted to be anywhere but here.

"Don't give me that, you're obviously not trying."

Blake scowled. "How am I supposed to do this if I don't even recognise what these damn symbols mean?"

"their called letters," the noble said. "And you'll get better as you start to recognise them. This is a simple task I've given you, a child could do it."

The Faunus just glowered some more. Not only was it awful, but it was embarrassing to hear that she was doing worse than a child. Who wanted to hear that? The Schnee definitely wasn't one for encouragement.

She'd been at this for the last, what? Weiss had said twenty minutes, but it wasn't like she really knew what that meant. Blake could only really work in hours, dividing the day up into larger sections was easy to grasp. She knew it was longer than it should have been though.

Her hand practically throbbed from holding this damned feather. What had Weiss called it? A quill? She had ink on her fingertips and it was making them itch too. Why was this something that was required of nobility again? What was the point in this?

She would have asked but she knew the Schnee would have words with her if she did. The girl was getting more and more frustrated the longer it took.

It was obvious the noble was expecting faster results and she _clearly_ wasn't getting them.

"There are too many letters." She huffed.

"There are twenty-six of them." Weiss shot back, clearly not impressed.

Blake baulked. "You make that sound like that's not a big number."

Weiss stared at her. "Don't tell me you don't know basic numbers either!"

The dark haired girl frowned and looked away. "I know what numbers are," she protested. "I just don't know what order they're supposed to go in. all I know is what one of the old miners taught me when I was little, and he was half blind and deaf."

The poor man hadn't lasted much longer after that. He'd been one before Blake turned eight. She didn't actually find out what happened to him, but considering the options maybe she didn't want to know.

Weiss sighed loudly. "I suppose that is to be expected considering." She added. "But that is no excuse for not being able to learn this simple passage."

"How is this supposed to teach me anything?!" Blake cried.

"It's a basic method!" Weiss yelled back. "All you're doing is copying the words on the page and reading back what it says. It's a simple way of learning what each word means."

"For you maybe!"

"Oh for-"

There was a knock on the door, startling them suddenly. Their head whipped to the sound as a voice came through the wood.

"Miss Schnee are you all right?" it was Klein's voice, concern clear in it. "I heard shouting and came to investigate."

Weiss blinked. Blake did too before paling. She'd been shouting? At the Schnee of all people?!

"It is fine Klein." Weiss called through the door. "Do not worry, I will call for you if I am in need of something."

"Very well." The sound of footsteps could be heard fading away after a moment, and the two girls looked at each other

Weiss cleared her throat. "Well… perhaps we should… start again. "

Blake nodded slowly. That was probably a good idea.

She was surprised though when Weiss decided to pull over a chai, a different kind; it was wider, with no arm railings and a sort of built-in cushion on the seat. It was wide enough for both of them. She pushed it in front of the desk and sat down, gesturing for Blake to do the same.

Beside her.

The Faunas didn't like it, but she'd practically been ordered so…

She did as she was told, taking a place beside the Schnee and watching as the white-haired noble took out another page. It was bigger than the last, more of a parchment than paper.

"Well then." She said. "Clearly my initial plan isn't working so we'll try it another way." She reached for a second Quill, dipping it in ink and moving to the top of the parchment. She pressed down. Her hands moved and she drew out one of the symbols, and triangle with no bottom, and a line halfway through. Beside it, she drew a smaller circle, except it was less round on one side and has some kind of… top, as well as a tail.

"This is the letter 'A'" she said. Here is how we will do it; I will write it down clearly and say it aloud, then, you will do the same beside it, saying it aloud also. We will do that for every letter and repeat from there." She sighed. "It's much slower but…."

Blake nodded. Was still wasn't sure _exactly_ how this was going to work but she might as well give it a try.

Weiss gestured with her eyes to the page and Blake realised what she wanted. She dipped her own quill in the ink, less eloquently that Weiss had and copied the 'letter' as best she could. It was strange that both symbols meant the same thing, but for the moment she wouldn't question it.

"A" she said aloud. The sudden silliness of the situation hit as she did so and her cheeks heated up. This was childish, embarrassing even.

The Schnee didn't look like it affected her though; a quick glance showed a calm face, eyes locked intently on the parchment and not even the faintest tin of red on her face.

Weiss wrote the second letter;

"B"

Blake did the same, again repeating it aloud.

Then came the third, and the fourth and fifth and sixth.

Blake frowned. How did this even make sense?

Four letters sounded almost the same save for how they began, and then 'F' came along and was completely different. Was it really something simple that she was missing? Because Weiss didn't look like it was out of the ordinary at all.

She kept her mouth shut because of that, and dutifully copied what Weiss was doing. When they came to the last one about… what? Five minutes later, was that what the Schnee had said?

The girl picked up the parchment, scanning over it a few times before humming.

"Your handwriting is atrocious," she said after a moment. "But you at least were capable of writing out each letter. I wonder if we should do it over."

Blake's ears flattened against her head at the thought.

Weiss noticed and rolled her eyes. "Come now, it's not that bad."

She didn't bother arguing, and after a moment they started again. After that they did it again, and again, and again for the rest of their secluded time until the letters were practically burned into Blake's skull. Her hand felt as if it was about to fall off.

Eventually though, Weiss seemed satisfied with their work and stood up, brush off some invisible layer of dust Blake couldn't see.

"Well at the very least we were able to get something done. Very good. Now, Klein!" she called.

Blake wasn't exactly sure _how_ the human heard her voice, but the suddenly hurried footsteps returned and he opened the door.

"Miss Schnee," he bowed. "You called for me?"

"Yes," she confirmed. "I did, what is next for today?"

He might have smiled behind his moustache but Blake wasn't really sure. "It is lunch Miss Schnee, the cooks have already prepared it for your arrival.

Blake perked up at that.

If there was ever a reason to endure all of this, it was for the food she got. She'd already had breakfast (a massive one.) but to be getting another meal was even better.

Apparently this was the norm, nobles had three meals a day at the minimum. When Blake had heard she'd been shocked. Then Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner. Then she'd heard about snacks and supper and Blake had to wonder how nobles weren't fat!

Or… well, they might have been, but she'd seen how much of the food Weiss _actually_ ate.

Compared to how much food the servants put on the table the white-haired girl barely ate a morsel. Blake of course made of for that, and she had a feeling the noble found some amusement in that.

She frowned at the thought. She wasn't going to be some jester for the girl.

Her stomach suddenly rumbled as she thought more and more about food. Her hands feel to it.

Well… she _might_ become a jester if it meant food.

At the moment Blake was content to just follow along as Weiss nodded and made her way to the dining hall.

She still hadn't told Blake not to eat with her, so she wasn't entirely sure what the point of having a slave eat right next to a noble.

She didn't know much about specific class defines, but Blake was pretty sure she shouldn't be eating at the same table as Weiss.

She wasn't going to ask though, just in case she changed her mind.

They sat down and once again the Faunus marvelled as platters of food was brought out by servants and set out in front of them. She hadn't gotten tired of this scene yet, it always made her mouth water.

Blake dug in almost immediately like she always did; with reckless abandon as speed as if she worried it would be taken from her if she waited too long, and as always Weiss watched her with vague amusement as she ate her own delicately.

(Blake still hadn't touched her cutlery once.)

They had some time to enjoy their food before Klein came in and bowed to Weiss.

"Pardon me Miss Schnee, but you asked for me to speak to you on the matters of organising the gathering."

"I did," the white-haired girl agreed. "I suppose now is as good a time as any. Tell me what you have so far."

The man nodded. "We have received acceptance replys from almost all of our potential guests with only a few lagging behind. I suspect they are simply holding out until they feel you have waited long enough, a show of power as it were."

"Understandable," Weiss hummed, locking her hands together and resting her chin atop them. "Continue."

"The current could in around forty-three noble families in all, over a hundred guests not including whatever guards they bring with them. Port will of course be managing our own men. He assures they will be on high alert."

"Are we supplied enough for all of them?" Weiss asked. "I want this to go well, nothing should be spared."

"Of course Miss Schnee, as arranged there will be food enough for all of them at-"

He was cut off as Blake spewed her drink, choking on it and thumbing her chest with her fist desperately.

"Blake?" Weiss asked in sudden concern. "Are you alright?"

She nodded feebly, still thumbing her chest as she managed to get her breathing under control. "I-I'm fine," she said. "What was that about food? Enough for a hundred people? How and why!?"

Weiss sighed and rolled her eyes. "Of course you would suddenly latch on to the mention of food. Well I suppose it would be best to tell you now, it will be your first proper day on the job. Simply put I have decided to host a party of sorts. Nothing too big, just inviting the local nobles in the North-western part of Vale to meet with me. Some of the more important heads may be there due to my name, but mostly it is an act to place myself firmly in their sights."

"It is an act of getting Miss Schnee acquainted with other families," Klein elaborated when Blake looked more confused. "Many nobles have influence over parts of land and matters of the kingdom. It is an ideal situation then, to make them know that the Schnee family is properly residing here. They need to know we are in the business of making allies also."

Weiss nodded. "And as such it will be a gathering of the families. "

"A-alright," blake said, still trying to follow along. "Then, what am I supposed to do? I'm not exactly a noble. I don't think I'll be… accepted."

"Weiss scoffed. "You'll be accepted in my home whether they like it or not, I will not show weakness by hidden people they might find uncomfortable away. Anyway, you are supposed to be there, you are my _bodyguard_ after all. That means you must attend these gathering with me at all times."

"Oh… right." She'd forgotten about that. It was a big miss admittedly but it was something Blake seemed to overlook sometimes; that she was meant to be some kind of figure beside Weiss. With all the looks she got from the soldiers stationed around at the mansion.

"So…" she said after a moment, looking down at her plate (What were the point of these anyway? All you needed to do was hold your food when you ate. Why would you set it back down again?)

"This is going to be a new experience... I guess."

"That it will," Weiss agreed. "You will be a representation of myself. I expect you to be on your best behaviour because of it, do you understand? No more of what happened with Torchwick."

Blake winced, but not because of any guilt she felt – she hadn't said anything wrong in her situation, she knew that for a fact! – but because it reminded her of the icy look the Schnee had given her.

When she didn't answer Klein made a point f clearing his throat and giving her a pointed look.

Ah, right.

"I understand." She said. "I'll try to keep as quiet as possible."

"but remember to speak if you are asked a question," Weiss pushed. "it would not help to e rude to a head of the house or their children. In fact, if you can, be sure to be extra polite to future heads of the house." Blake nodded. It wasn't like she could _disagree_.

"We will of course have to work on how you present yourself," klein told her, eyes running up and down her form critically. "A plain white state of dress is acceptable for the household, but in the face of other nobles who we are aiming to make an impression on only the best will do. And," he looked down and frowned. "We will need to get you some proper shoes."

Blake groaned.

Beside her the noble gave a small laugh. "I know footwear seems to be your mortal enemy, by going bare feet to something like this would only draw unwanted attention. We can't have you causing a scene over something so silly." She thought for a moment. "Of course, since your roll hasn't got much to do with dancing and the like, I suppose we could go with Ports suggestion."

"Port?" Blake asked, suddenly alert. Her dislike for the man making her instantly wary of anything he had to say.

"He has been suggesting we get you some proper footwear. He suggested riders boots, something that gave you plenty of room."

Blake lessened the tension in her shoulder at that just a little. It… didn't sound too bad. Sure she had no idea what riders boots were exactly but if they had plenty of room then she really couldn't complain.

She _wanted_ to complain because, well, Port, but she couldn't.

"They should be ready for you tomorrow," Klein supplied helpfully. "If that is all Miss Schnee, I will be returning to my work."

"It is," Weiss nodded. "Oh, and before you go, be sure to tell the cooks to hold off on anything overly… doughy. Apparently the Winchesters son hates it."

"Of course Miss Schnee." He bowed, and left right after, leaving the two of them to enjoy the rest o their lunch.

"Thoughts?" Weiss suddenly asked, and Blake took a moment to realise the noble was talking to her.

"Um… about what?"

"the part, what do you think about it?"

This was some kind of test, Blake thought, or maybe a way of gauging her opinions on Weiss' decision.

"I'm… not sure," she answered carefully. "It's not like I've ever been to something like this, let alone even heard of it really, it'll be something new at least. It sounds like a lot of nobles will be there."

"A fifth of the nobility here in Vale," Weiss supplied helpfully right, she could store that away for later.

"Right. I guess I'll get to see how your kind act around each other. But apart from that I'm not exactly sure what I'm supposed to think. What will I actually be doing anyway? Standing guard?"

"Of me, yes." Weiss hummed. "You are to be at my side at all times unless I say otherwise. Other than that, I do not expect anything to really occur that you would need to take action against, but it will be adequate practice for later events such as this."

"Later events?" Blake frowned. "Is this a regular thing for nobles?"

"Of course," Weiss scoffed, as if it should have been obvious. "It is the ideal setting for the Game."

"The… Game?"

"Of _politics!"_ she elaborated. "Of placements and dealings, lies and truths and understanding what motivates others. It is where both friends and enemies convene in the open for either peaceful talks or treacherous assassinations."

She sighed longingly. "It I something I have always loved. The excitement and subterfuge sends my heart racing."

"You… make it sound exciting." Blake admitted. "I thought all nobles did was lounge about and do whatever they wanted."

Weiss shot her a glare, perhaps not aimed directly at her but definitely at her words. She let it go with a huff.

"How do you think things get done on the kingdoms?" Weiss laughed. There are many duties a noble must attend to."

The Faunus blinked. "I thought the king decided what happened. That makes more sense than… parties."

"the _monarch_ is not all powerful." Weiss said pointedly, pouring herself a glass of wine. Was afternoon even a proper time to have wine?

"Of course their word is law but they need people to enforce those laws, not just on a military scale – of which vassels are needed to command and managed the armies of the land – but also the economic side of things. Nobles provide sponsorship, lien, land and an abundance of other things. Not only that, but going back to military might and using Vale as an example; they have a large army, filled with fighters arguably more talented than many other kingdoms, but the strongest forces are undoubtedly owned by nobles."

"Really?" Blake asked. "Why is that? Wouldn't it make sense to have the best guarding the ruler?"

"Oh don't get me wrong," the Schnee laughed. "The king has his own personal guard, men and women trained nearly from birth to defend him and it is a great honour, but that is mostly reserved for the highest of noble families. Other than that, the Valean king's army needs soldiers to keep the peace all over the land, a large amount, which means they cannot all be elites. Training, equipment and men all cost lien."

"And that's something that needs to be spread out among every single soldier." Blake finished.

Weiss gave her an impressed nod. "Correct… for noble's this is different you see; families may recruit a few hand full, no more than a hundred, maybe two hundred men depending on the size of their wealth, land and position. As such, the lien is spent training the best they can. Ergo, nobles usually as a definite rule have more elite men, and in my opinion, I believe that quality has a vat advantage over quantity in all but the extremist of cases."

She smiled, as if remembering a joke.

"'Bring me twenty good men and I can cripple an army' That was an off handed quote to be sure by some general I don't remember the name of, but fantastically it made its way into military docturne after it was successful. A wild tale and not something most generals are fond of trying to recreate, but an interesting story none the less."

She shook her head. "Anyway, we're getting off topic. Essentially, nobles meet at gathering such as these to strengthen their household. The King or Queen of a kingdom will usually not attend but their word will be sent in their sted in the form of a representative. They will be there to see what the general consensus is between nobles, since if the nobility turned against the monarchy they might not be able to stop them."

She took another sip of wine. "It's a balancing act really. And don't even get me started on _marriage_ proposals."

The Faunus tilted her head. "Marriage? What's that?"

Weiss was in the middle of drinking wine as it was asked, though unfortunately she was too refined to suddenly start choking in it. She stopped, eyes going wide over the glass as they zeroed in on Blake. She set the drink down _slowly_ as she tried to work her mouth.

"You're… not joking are you?"

Blake shook her head and Weiss scowled.

"Honestly, you would think they would teach you something like that in the mines."

Blake didn't comment, she didn't know what they were supposed to be teaching to begin with.

The noble ran a hand through her hair. "Marriage is… the joining of two individuals. Some do it for status, others for wealth or even a joining of families. It apparently can be considered for people in intimate relationships, at least according to Klein." She huffed again. "How do they not teach you this?"

Blake's shoulders slumped. It was that feeling again, of being out of touch with the rest of the world because if that dark cavern she'd called a home.

"Faunus aren't allowed relations like that in the mines." She said at last. I heard there were two near closer to the surface who tried something like that. Not the marriage part, but trying to be close like that. One of them was transferred to the depths when the overseer found out. He died over air poisoning a few weeks later, then the other one found out and she withered away."

Blake had heard it was something called 'a broken heart'. It didn't sound very nice, and she didn't want anything to do with it. What was the point in being like that with another person if it meant you might die f they did. Especially in the mines of all places. People died there every day.

She looked up from her lap, which she hadn't even realised she had been staring at, and saw Weiss' paler than usual face.

She… actually looked upset by it.

Why… Blake didn't know.

"I… think we should move on to different topics," the Schnee coughed. "The party is in three days. The servant will be working hard to make sure everything is in order. Your schedule should not change in that time, we will of course be looking to get you something better to wear than that white attire."

Blake nodded. "So… what should I do now?"

Weiss hummed and perked up.

"Well you _are_ going to be in charge of protecting me. Port would be more than happy to extend you're training. You can start now!"

Blake groaned.

This was going to be torture.

* * *

...

...

* * *

 **A little bit of a shorter chapter, more transitional than anything. We'll start getting into the meat of the story now:**

 **Politics!**

 **Oh joy, this will be fun.**

 **other than that, a little bit more background on how the system in the kingdom's work and Blake's learning how to read.**

 **Double Oh Joy. not much else I can say here, but stay tuned fpr the next one!**


	5. Chains: Chapter 5

**Too long. Far, far too long since the last chapter. I'm really sorry about that, irritatingly, life gets in the way were you don't have enough time for everything.**

 **If I was better at managing a schedule this would have been updated far quicker, as it is, all I can say is that I managed to get this new chapter out now. Hopefully, it is at least up to par with the previous ones, though considering how long the time between this and the last I'm not sure.**

 **Hopefully you'll enjoy it either way.**

 **Again, I'm sorry for the wait.**

…

* * *

Blake peered out Weiss bedroom window down onto the path leading through the estate. There were lanterns lighting the path, and with her vision she could make out the figures and the telltale signs of what they were.

It looked like the nobility had arrived.

There were…. A lot more than she'd expected. Carriages upon carriages lines with horses and men. Banners above each of them with unique symbols. They were like Weiss' snowflake.

She knew that was supposed to mean something but as for the what and why Blake couldn't be sure.

Still, it looked like a small army had arrived, though each group surrounding the banners had different colours. There were about forty variations from what she could see so far, and well over a thousand soldiers.

She didn't like it. too many humans with weapons.

There was a click behind her and the Faunus turned to see Weiss hurry into the room.

The Schnee saw her by the window and gasped.

"Why aren't you changed yet?" she asked worriedly. "We don't have much time left!"

Weiss didn't stop moving as she said it, practically running (as much as someone could in heels) over to her wardrobe.

Blake blinked. "What are you doing?"

"Getting my dress!"

"But… what about the one you have on?"

"It's hardly party material. It's too plain."

She stared at Weiss' back. Too plain? It was white embodied silk, how was that in any way plain?"

"Well what about that one?" the Faunus asked, pointing to the outfit laid out on the bed. it wasn't exactly a dress but-

"That's _yours_." The noble told her, still searching the wardrobe.

Blake's eyes widened. Hers? No way, it was far too… much.

It was a coat, a long coat reaching down to her ankles with sleeves concealing her hands. It had a high collar, and leather buckled straps wrapped around the waist.

 _And it was all white._

It got even worse when she saw the back of it and the massive snowflake branded onto the back of it.

Damn… this thing was… just damn.

At least she'd been given 'riding boots' as Port and called them they were a simple brown colour, and simple enough to be comfortable. That was maybe the only saving grace though. How did anyone think this much white in an outfit was okay?

"Go on," Weiss said. "Hurry up and put in on. Once I'm ready we'll be showing our faces to my guests."

Blake but her lip. Weiss was suggesting what she had for the last few nights. That Blake shouldn't concern herself with disrobing in front on her.

She did of course, even as a slave she had the knowledge to know that the act of seeing someone without clothes on was something _not_ done between strangers.

And especially not the two of them.

Instead Blake went into the smaller room connected to Weiss' bedchamber. It was… what she called a bathing room. Which was amazing to Blake considering that being in a bath was one of the most relaxing things she'd ever done; to think nobles had things like that on a whim!

Anyway, she was going off in a tangent now. She went into the bathroom, closed it behind her and got dressed.

The outfit fit surprisingly well for the first time… had they somehow gotten her measurements?

She shivered. Maybe she shouldn't think about that.

The white cloak went on last, and Blake got a chance to look at her reflection in the wall mirror.

She looked alright she'd admit. It was strange. It had been less than a month, but Blake was sure that if her slave self-right out of the mines could see her now she wasn't sure she'd recognise her.

 _Still a slave._

Blake reminded herself. Her eyes flicked to the black collar on her neck, still visible unless she made a conscious effort to hide it.

Her fingers glided over the front of it, over the Schnee mark. She was still owned by Weiss.

She scowled at her reflection, annoyed that she'd forgotten that for a moment.

Were clothes and nice food all it took to make her some obedient tool?

No. they weren't.

She scowled again but this time for the opposite reason.

Blake closed her eyes and took a breath. She needed to calm down. There was no sense getting worked up about it now. _Especially_ not now, with all of these nobles here. If she so much as annoyed one of them too much she didn't doubt she'd be punished for it.

Or worse.

With another sigh she turned back to the door and opened it, stepping back into the bedroom.

She stopped when she say the noble girl.

A blue dress that reached all the way down darker at the top and lighter at the bottom, but with an opening at one side.

It… looked good on her Blake realised. It matched her eyes.

The noble noticed her gaze a moment later and turned to her with a nod. "Good, you're ready. Come then, let's not waste any more time."

With that Blake followed quietly behind down the hallway. She wasn't entirely sure what this was supposed to be like. The room hosting it would be the ballroom(for whatever reason there as to have a ballroom) and Blake had only been in there once or twice as she travelled through the mansion.

Eventually though, they came to a door with servants on both sides. they say them coming and opened them.

Blake stared at the scene in front of her:

They were on a balcony with rounding stairs on both sides and a marble railing. Below were the nobility talking and laughing among themselves with drinks already in hand.

Yep, definitely a lot of them, too many for Blake to count right away. Along the sides Weiss' guards stood to attention.

Weiss rested her hands on the railings as Blake stood behind her, just out of their vision. She jumped slightly when the sound of a bell rang out, and all eyes turned to their host.

"Welcome," she greeted in a measured tone. "It is a pleasure to invite you all into my home to convene. Now I am aware that I am perhaps considered an outsider here," she smiled sweetly, and Blake could tell instantly it was more than a little fake. "But I hope you will welcome me all the same. For now, enjoy this gathering, there is much to do."

The Faunus blinked. That had sounded…

"Are you coming Blake?" Weiss asked, already at the foot of the stairs.

She nodded and followed quickly behind.

They made there way down and Blake's eyes flicked back and forth.

Servants moved around quickly, weaving in and out of the crowds of nobles that had formed. They served food and drinks constantly and Blake had to stop herself from drooling at the sights and smells.

That wasn't the only thing that stopped her of course.

Some of them were looking at Weiss, and at her.

She hoods were down and her ears were in clear view. They helped her heard the hushed whispers.

" _A Faunus? What is something like that doing here? So close to lady Schnee as well._ "

She winced, but when she looked at Weiss, all she saw how she held her head high and kept her back straight. She wasn't bothered by it. In fact, she looked like she was delighting in the extra attention

Blake was part of the show now was she?

Whatever. It didn't matter right now. All Blake needed to do was keep quiet and let these humans waste their breaths among themselves and she'd be fine.

Maybe after a while Weiss would let her go off and have some of the food for herself.

She wasn't paying much attention, so when Weiss stopped it was only her reflexes that stopped her from bumping into her.

There was someone in front of her, wearing an ugly smile.

"Lady Schnee," he bowed flamboyantly. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

"Ah, Lord Bronzewing. How are you?"

Blake held herself back from making a face. _Bronzewing_ … seriously?

"Very well, thank you my lady. To be honest, when I was informed on the news that a Schnee would be taking residence in Vale I thought it might be your father, or perhaps your sister. It was a surprise to hear it would be you. This would be your first time away from Atlas would it not?"

"It would," she confirmed. "So far it has been a pleasant experience. Do not worry, if you expected action and competency from my father, you will receive the very same form me."

"Quite." He nodded, before straightening up a little. He made a little motion with his arm off to the left and smiled at Weiss again. "You have not met my son yet. This is Dove. Dove, this is Lady Schnee, the hostess of this lovely gathering."

Blake's eyes roamed up and down the new human, who took Weiss' hand in his own and bowed, kissing her knuckle.

Despite the weird greeting, she couldn't really find anything overly out of place about him. He had hair suiting his name – a bronze colour, and a rather plain looking face. He was dressed up in a puffy suit and tie that most of the men seemed to be wearing. Blake honestly didn't see the appeal.

What was it with nobility? For all their riches they didn't wear particularly practical clothing. Or maybe that was the point? She wasn't sure.

"Lady Schnee," he smiled, it was less ugly than his fathers, airing on the side more of dopey than anything else. "Thank you for inviting my family to this ball."

"Of course," she said. "You are the Scion of the Bronzewing line are you not? It would be remiss of me to not acknowledge you as such."

Oh she was good. Blake definitely wasn't experienced when it came to smooth talk, but even she could tell Weiss was _really_ good at it.

That was proven even more when Dove flushed.

"A-ah! Thank you lady Schnee for your kind words. My family regrettably is not one of the pillars, so it is sometimes difficult to advance stature."

The white-haired girl chuckled lightly. "Well your thanks is appreciated. I see a future with us working closely together heir bronzewing."

He opened to mouth to say more, but his father calls him from the side. He hesitates for a moment before bowing and turning away, leaving Weiss and Blake alone once again.

The Faunus took the liberty to stand beside the Schnee.

"So… Pillars?"

"We really need to start going over what you do and don't know," Weiss sighed. "The Pillars are the titles given to the most powerful noble families. They're usually families with larger influence in the kingdoms, they're usually the oldest of the nobility lineage but there isn't any set limit on how many there can be. The Schnee family is one such line within Atlas."

"So who are the Pillars in Vale?"

"You're about to find out." Weiss muttered, low enough so that only she could hear it, right as a tall figure approached.

They were blonde, and if Blake was honestly, largely unimpressive. They were kind of scraggly and it looked like their hair had been carefully managed for hours only to mess itself up as soon as it was time to be in public.

So… she wasn't really concerned with him being a threat.

Blake allowed herself to doze off a little as he approached Weiss and introduced himself.

"Lady Shncee," he smiled nervously. "Uh, my name is Jaune Arc, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise," she nodded. "But don't worry, you don't need to introduce yourself we've met before."

The blonde blinked in confusion. "We have?"

"Yes, at the Festival of Iron. You were accompanying your oldest sister… you threw up."

The arc flushed with embarrassment and mumbled something about carriages and travel. Weiss' eyes widened and she waved her hands.

"Oh no it's fine, I can understand that some people can have little moments like that. It's nothing to be ashamed of my apologise for bringing it up."

He laughed lightly. "Well, I guess I shouldn't feel too bad, at least you invited me to your party, if I were you I'd be afraid to bring the vomiting noble into my home, especially with so many people around."

The Schnee smiled. "Well keep your stomach and I'll congratulate you on it."

Of course, after such a pleasant exchange someone had to come along and ruin it, this meant talking the form of a larger man, no, a teen. Blake couldn't see any facial hair that hinted at the telltale sign of aged nobility. The oldest he might have been was twenty but she expected it to be lower.

Although, it didn't really matter, because the cocky smirk on his face meant he wasn't in the mood to play nice.

"It's always like that though isn't it?" he laughed as he strode into the conversation. "and making a mess of things is practically commonplace now."

"I'm… sorry?" Weiss blinked.

The taller man shrugged. "You'll find out eventually, but even as a pillar the arcs don't have the sway to be useful."

"That's not the type of thing you say at a place like this." the blonde mumbled, Jaune, Blake would remember, if only to spite this arrogant noble who'd sauntered in. though maybe what she cared about didn't really compare to them at this point.

The taller male shot him a glare that he quickly stepped back from. Weiss was silent through the little exchange.

"Cardin Winchester I presume, my apologies, but we have only met your father once, and I haven't had the chance to meet you personally."

"Hmph, I know. My father told me about your little… display in Atlas."

Winchester's eyes flickered to Blake and he sneered.

"This is it then? It would have made a far better target. Why is it here? shouldn't it be in the stables?"

The Faunus bit the inside of her cheek, if only to prevent the insults she wanted to fire back. Weiss fortunately was there to vouch for her.

" _Blake_ is under my employment. Her talents I thought would be best utilised as my bodyguard, as such that is her position here tonight."

"Bodyguard?"

Blake had had enough, quickly, she stepped closer to Weiss, ignoring the way the two nobles tensed as she did so. She didn't care, instead whispering into her ear:

"May I be excused for a moment. I won't be far, I need to speak to port."

Weiss' eyes flickered to the left, where said man was standing by the table serving wine. She nodded. "Very well, but should I need you, you are to come."

Blake nodded, and making sure to face Jaune more than the Winchester she bowed before turning away and stalking her way over to the other employed individual under Weiss.

She did her best to keep her back straight, though she could feel eyes boring into the back of her head.

"Well lass." Port greeted as she came close. "Seems you're stirring things up."

She blinked, not just at the casual greeting – which made her skin crawl – but his words. "What do you mean?"

He raised an eyebrow. "You can't tell? Come," he motioned for her to stand beside him at the table, and thinking of nothing to argue for, did so. "Look out at these Noble men and Noble ladies and tell me what you see."

She let out an annoyed breath. She wasn't in the mood for his games.s he was _never_ in the mood for his games. She still participated though, if only for curiosities sake. Her eyes roamed over the gathering.

Men and women. Humans. Mingling, dancing, drinking and laughing.

Not actual laughing obviously, not like people _should_ laugh, heartily and full of merry like some had in the mines to lift their -and her- spirits. No, when these humans laughed they were small things, concealed behind hands, or sneers and scoffs. They were this kinds ones, they were faked.

"Well?"

"Wh-huh?" she blinked, before realising she'd gotten distracted. "I um… don't see anything really, people talking, that's about it."

Port chuckled. "You're lucky to have me then, listen closely lass, this is something you'll need to learn for your occupation." Blake grunted, but listened as he nodded to the side. "You see those three? The ones ion the corner with the frilly blue dress shirts? They've been staring at Lady Schnee ever since you arrived with her. Those ones near the stairs whispering in hushed tones, making motions as if referring to animals, or the few that keep glancing at you every o often. You're interesting lass, Most of the nobility haven't ever heard of Faunus acting as anything more than servants, but an actual protector? That's bound to start rumours?"

He took a sip of wine. "That's what Ladt Schnee wants; for your appearance to generate talk. Excitement. It'll make things easier for her, if only because other Nobles will be interested to see if the rumours are true."

Blake's eyes narrowed. "So she's using me then? To get what she wants?"

The man blinked. "Of course she is. What do you expect?"

"I… what?"

"You're in service to Lady Schnee," he went on. "All of your actions should be for her benefit, every time you appear it should be to work in her good name. you have something that makes you interesting to strangers, your situation makes you useful."

Again he chuckled. "But honestly lass that's not what you should be concerning yourself with. It's nice and peaceful the first time around, but it's your job to see and treat everything around Lady Schnee as a threat. Those looks they've been giving you? Those whispers in the corner? You should be suspicious of them, trying to find out if they could harm the lady."

"You… think they would?"

"Of course!" Port laughed, and Blake flinched back at the frankness. "Life at high court is dangerous lass, more dangerous I dare say than even life on the battlefield sometimes. At least in war you can see the enemy in front of you, you know you have to defend yourself, but here?"

He shook his head, leaving the wine table and making his way over to a more secluded part of the room, into an empty hallway. Blake followed.

"Here it could be anything. This life is full of cloaks and daggers, liars and plotters. Any smile could be fake and any word could be a trap. You must be careful of how you act, what you say and when you say it. Every misstep could be perilous, the worst can lead to your downfall or the ruin of entire families."

He raised a glass of wine. "Ah, but for now you can relax I suppose. I've taken care of things on the security end and this is the time for learning." He chuckled. "We've done that, so I think now is the time to relax. Here."

He lifted another glass that she hadn't noticed filled with the same red liquid.

"Try some."

The Faunus blanched. "You want _me_ to drink?"

"It's just wine." He laughed, but paused after a moment. "You _do_ know what wine is don't you?"

"I do," she said. "It's just that it wasn't the kind of thing Faunus got try… I saw a few of the… the masters drink it in their downtime. The smell is a strange one I think."

Port hummed. "The more I hear about the mines lass the more confused I get."

She shot him a look. "What do you mean?"

"It doesn't matter, you're here now, so try it."

Blake hesitated a second longer, but seeing no reason not to she took the glass, tilting the wine into her mouth.

"Agh!"

She was coughing a second later, the drink spilling slightly from her lips. It was a miracle that it landed on the floor and not her clothes, she wasn't sure it would be a good idea to let Weiss see her with red stains on them.

"It burns!" she spluttered, causing Port to burst out laughing. "What is wrong with you nobles?! How can you even drink this?!"

"That's how you know it's good." he says, moustache twitching as he manages to calm himself down a little.

"Insane." Blake muttered, "You're all insane."

"Ah don't fret lass, we'll get you used to the taste some other time, next time you're not slacking off that is."

"Tch, bastard."

Port just laughed at that, and once again Blake shot him a look.

She did everytime he brushed off her words. Blake knew she wasn't an expert of noble etiquette, but even she could tell that if she'd said something like that to another soldier, noble or remnant forbid Wiess; she would be in a lot of trouble.

Port on the other hand acted like it was nothing.

She hadn't realised it the first time, mostly because she was furious at him for bloodying her nose, but no matter what insult or profanity she threw his way he took it in stride and a dash of good humour.

She'd insulted his face, his weight, his age, his lineage and pretty much everything else she could think of and he just continued training her.

Or, beating her down in training.

Maybe that _was_ his payback, but she didn't think so. There was no malice behind it, and every time she managed to block a hit properly or dodge well enough he would compliment her for it.

Yes, she had decided. Port was strange.

That didn't mean she liked him though.

Imagining what it would feel like to stab him in his fat gut was enough to make her smile.

She couldn't wait for weapons training.

Those thoughts would have to wait for a moment though, as port nudged her and gestured back to the gathering.

"The lady is signalling for you." He told her. "Best not delay."

She sighed. Blake could already see Weiss, signalling to her once. The noble was surrounded by four other humans that she didn't recognise. The Jaune boy was still there a little to the side…

Well it wasn't like she had the choice to refuse, so she made her way over and remembered to bow when she got close.

"my lady." She greeted courteously, taking a page out of – bleh – Ports book.

"Oh my!" one of the noble ladies gasped suddenly. Blake's eyes flickered to her, but she didn't have a noteworthy face.

Of course she wore a dress that looked more expensive than any piece of clothing ever should have been, but Blake was starting to realise that was normal around these people.

She went on. "I didn't expect her to be so polite, you must have trained her well Lady Schnee."

Blake felt herself bristle at that. She wasn't a dog.

Weiss cut in before she had the chance to say something stupid.

"Actually my lady, my bodyguard is well equipped to follow instructions without such training. She is very intelligent I can assure you."

Blake managed to mask her surprise with another bow. Weiss thought she was intelligent? Hardly, the Schnee was still teaching her to read for goodness sake.

"I see." Another man said, looking at her with interest. "Lady Schnee, I feel like my curiosity is getting the better of me, but where exactly did you procure someone like this as to make them your personal defender?"

"The Mines."

"Oh!" it was the same woman, Blake was beginning to get annoyed with her now. She was treating the Faunus as if she was entertainment. "The Mines. They are the main contributors to Atlas' economy are they not?"

"They are," Weiss nods. "My father has gone to great lengths to ensure their success. I am quite proud of my family's success."

Again, the man turned to her. "So that would mean Lady Schnee purchased you from the mines correct? Could you tell us what it was like? I'm sure things were interesting."

"Ah!" Weiss blinked, turning to Blake. "I'll admit I was wondering the same. I was always curious how it worked down there myself. Could you tell us?"

Blake… hesitated. "I… don't think you'd want to know."

"Hm? Why not?"

"It's… not the sort of thing to talk about in front of guests my Lady."

Especially since she'd just said she was _proud_ of her father's work.

But Weiss didn't seem to get the hint, flicking her hair back and smiling "Come now, I don't mind sating my curiosity in front of others. Now go on, tell us already."

Blake looked away. They were staring at her expectantly.

Again, like a show animal.

Something cold writhed in her stomach.

Fine, they wanted an answer did they? She'd give them one.

"it was cold." She said, turning back to them with a deadpan tone. "It was dark and it was dirty. Before I got out for good I only saw the sun three times. Faunus were weak, sick and hungry at the lower levels and the new ones were broken down when they arrived. The people in charge made games out of beating us, scaring us or tearing parts of us off if they got drunk enough."

A sneer made its way onto her face.

"People died all the time. My friends, people who looked after me were just a few of them. We were treated like animals and if anyone acted out they were punished like one. But worst of all was the actions. We heard about them; they happened once a month. They'd pick some of us to sell to nobles, usually when we made a mistake or upset them and the horror stories we somehow got back meant that every day we were afraid when the time came around again. It was hell, and I hated it."

She gasped for breath, realising that she'd hissed out every word.

Oh no. She'd said too much, she'd gone too far!

She looked up at them and swallowed.

They looked… shocked. As if they couldn't believe what she'd just told them.

But they didn't look horrified. It was as if they were listening to a story, something that wasn't real. They looked annoyed that she'd ruined a joke, or said something insulting.

The only one that looked horrified was that Jaune boy. In fact he looked rather pale.

Then her gaze turned to Weiss, and she flinched back.

She stared into cold blue, and she was afraid she might freeze.

"Come with me."

It was all Weiss said as she turned and stalked out of the hall. She didn't even excuse herself from her guests. Blake knew she was in trouble.

And she had to follow anyway.

She did so, and not a minute later the two of them were in an empty corridor. Weiss stood there with her arms crossed and _stared_ at Blake.

"What was that."

Blake bit her lip. "I… don't know what you mean."

Weiss' teeth showed as she growled angrily. "Yes you do. What you said back there, those lies."

 _What?_

"What!?" she echoed aloud.

"I _said_ , what were those lies you told in front of my guests."

The feeling returned to her stomach, but this time, instead of cold there was fire.

"I didn't lie. You ordered me to tell them what life was like in the mines, _so I did_."

"You expect me to believe that?" the noble snarled. "You expect me to stand there while you slander my family name? we _own_ those mines, and you paint us as monsters?"

"You honestly believe you're not?"

" _WHAT!?"_

Blake knew she should just shut her mouth. No matter what she said she'd just make it worse for herself. If she went too far Weiss might even-

"You stand there and act like you and your family are some great saints when you control the mines! Your family is one every Faunus knows and spits on. You put us down there to die. It's not slander, it's the truth!"

"How dare you!"

"How dare you!" Blake screamed. "How dare you think you have the right to be offended when you ruin peoples lives! You throw my people into holes where we go to work ourselves to the bone, waste away and die!" something burned at her eyes, something wet.

It was tears she realised.

"I was cut, bruised and beaten down there. I worked until my feet bled, until my arms gave out and I could barely stand up straight and at the end of it all I watched people who took care of me waste away. In what world can you possibly think what you're doing to us is right?!"

"We're not _doing_ anything!"

"Yes. You. Are." Blake moved. Weiss actually finches back in surprise as Blake appears just a hairsbreadth away from her face. Faunus move faster than Humans do, she seemed to forget it at that moment.

And that at the moment. They were alone.

"Because of your family, I was thrown into the mines!"

Weiss grit her teeth. "And _I_ got you out again."

"Do you think that matters to me?"

"Shouldn't it?"

"I don't have a family because of you!"

Weiss reared back as if she'd been slapped. Blake's voice had taken on an agonised pitch. "I don't know who my mother was, or my father. I don't know if they're alive or dead I don't even know my last name because your family takes people like me and turns them into slaves! You turned me into a slave!"

"I-"

Weiss is cut off but the door behind her opening and a knight in silver peering through.

"Lady Schnee are you alright? I thought I heard a commotion."

"…It's nothing." She said. "I was just informing my bodyguard that she is relieved from duty for the night."

The Faunus didn't get another word in, as Weiss stormed off, back to her guests to play the proper host.

* * *

…

…

* * *

Blake slept in the stables that night.

She didn't even want to attempt going anywhere near Weiss, and as it was the sables were a place none of the nobility or the men would be, and when the party ended and they left she decided to stay there.

It wasn't exactly a comfortable sleep, but in her mood Blake didn't think she would have gotten one anyway.

She was angry. She was _still_ angry, and the only thing she had to look forward to was the fact that Port was teaching her how to fight early this morning.

When she heard that a feral grin had spread across her face.

So, when they did get to it, Port was more than a little surprised.

Blake was _aggressive._

She was faster than she had been before, the soldier could tell.

She moved almost like a blur, so fast it pushed Port onto the defensive for the first time since they'd started.

He but it was more than that:

Port watched as she crossed the distance faster than a human would have been able to and strike out with a dangerous blow to his head.

He blocked it, only to feel the other fist burring itself into his side. He coughed in surprise, it was a good hit, a painful one. She'd put a lot behind it.

He wasn't just some feeble old man though and he stepped into her guard and delivered a quick punch to her shoulder.

He was surprised again then, when instead of spinning away for flinching back like he'd expected her to, Blake _ignored_ the hit, pushing through it and slamming an elbow into his jaw.

He saw stars for a moment and cried out when something barreled into his stomach, knocking him off balance and sending him to the floor.

He didn't get much time to think as she delivered a strike to his jaw again.

She was hitting him while he was down.

He reached out a moment later, grasping her collar and yanking it to the side, her along with it.

She slammed onto the ground next, and Port pressed her arm behind her back.

She struggled.

"That's enough." He told her. "I've got you in a hold you won't be able to get out of unless you break your arm. That's it."

Blake scowled up at him, but relented as she was told. He got off her a moment later and hummed.

"You seem upset about something lass. What is it?"

The look on her face didn't leave her as she sat up. "It's nothing."

It wasn't. Blake looked away. It wasn't anything he had any business of knowing. He seemed to pick up on that suddenly and shrugged.

"Ah well, if you want to keep it yo your self I can hardly for you."

He could, but she knew what he meant. There would be no point. Her finger traced over the metal collar. It reminded her of a dog.

"Well lass," he said, standing up straight. "I don't think we should go any further right now, not when you're like that. Go one and get some breakfast instead."

Blake didn't say anything, doing as she was told since it meant she could leave the room faster. The air felt stale to her.

It was probably her mood but the excitement of attacking Port some more had left her far too quickly.

It was sticking with her; the casual belief from the nobility that there was nothing wrong with the mines.

She had thought that they had known what was being done was wrong, that even as they did it it was because it was a way for them to ammas power.

But no, Blake realised that these people didn't even think what they were doing was wrong.

Slander was what Weiss had called it.

 _Slander_.

Like she honestly thought Blake would praise her family for who they were.

Did she not remember the state Blake had been in when they first met? Perhaps she didn't care. Perhaps she expected Blake to lie to make her look good in front of her guests, except that would mean she knew the mines were awful places.

No, the fact was Weiss had honestly believed there was nothing wrong with how the Faunus were treated in them.

It wasn't a nice thought.

What was even worse however, was when she entered the dining room.

Weis was there, already at the table, had when she saw her, the noble frowned deeply.

Blake met her eyes for a moment, but she was the first to break away.

No, it probably wasn't a good idea to be in her presence now of all-

"Well?" Weiss asked in a clipped tone. "Are you going to just stand there or sit?"

Blake did her best to hid how she flinched. Weiss radiated a cold aura that sent her senses wild. Like a warning signal.

The collar on her neck felt cold suddenly, so again, she did what she was told, sitting down at the table, though, as far away as she could manage.

If Weiss noticed she didn't comment on it.

Food was already on the table, and Blake was introduced to a new and alien experience.

She wasn't hungry.

She just _wasn't_ hungry. The smell wasn't appetising, and her stomach didn't call out for her to eat. And she realised suddenly that she was picking at the food absentmindedly.

She just _wasn't_ hungry,

It was her mood she knew, ruining her taste, but it was like weights on her arms. She just could h=find the desire to eat.

She didn't like it.

"You caused me some trouble last night." Weiss said suddenly, snapping her out of her thoughts. "I had to convince my guests that you had just been tired. That you hadn't meant what you had said."

Her lips tugged downwards. "And they believed that?"

Cold eyes snapped to hers.

"No, I don't suspect they did, but appearances are everything, so they smiled and nodded. There will be talk from them now though, that I can't control the tounges of those under me."

Blake stayed silent. A morbid thought came to mind,; that id Weiss wanted to control her tongue she might need to cut it off.

She didn't voice it. She didn't want to give her any ideas.

"There is a way I can forgive you though."

The Faunus blinked. Forgive? What was she-

"Apologise to me right now. Admit that what you said was a lie and I will dismiss your mistake "

"…You want me to say I'm sorry."

"Essentially." She confirmed. "It's generous all things considered, but I feel like I should be lenient. It was your first time surrounded by so many nobles, I'm sure you were overwhelmed."

That heat returned. The one from last night.

Blake bowed her head. "I'm _sorry"_ she said _. "_ All that I said last night was a lie. Your family doesn't deserve to have their _good name_ tarnishedby someone like me. For that my lady I apologise."

Weiss' lips pressed into a thin line.

"You don't sound very sincere."

"Oh, my apologies again." Blake hissed out. "I'm still not familiar with how nobility speaks. I'm just a Faunus from the mines after all, I don't have that education."

" _You…_ **"** Weiss shook with barely suppressed rage.

Blake steeled herself even as her heart beat wildly. She'd crossed the line. She knew that. She'd made Weiss angry. She'd made a Schnee angry.

"You sit there and lie to me without a trace of deception. I think I find that almost more disgusting than the actual lies you're spouting."

"If you think there lies then I doubt there's anything I can do to change your mind." Blake shot back.

"After all, you're the noble part of the family that owns them. I'm just the one who grew up in them. It's not like I know anything."

" Who do you think you're speaking to?"

"…" Blake swallowed. "I do. You're the one that owns the collar around my neck."

Weiss bristled. "If your _stories_ about the mines are so true then I'd have thought you would have been grateful to me then. I took you out of them after all."

"You did." Balke agreed. "You gave me part of my life monumentally better than anything I remember before it which is why if you decide to ever send me back to the mines I've decided I'd rather kill myself."

Weiss gasped as soon as the words left her lips, and Blake… took a moment to realise what she'd just said and she realised…

She was completely serious. She hadn't thought about until right at that moment, and until she'd said it she couldn't have been sure,

But she meant it. She really would rather end it than go back to that place.

She was sure she would do it… but that didn't make it a comforting thought.

Blake realised she as lost in her thoughts, and her eyes suddenly flickered to Weiss.

Her face was paler than usual.

Had… had she hit a nerve?

She must have, because suddenly Weiss stung up, the chair screeching against the floor.

"I have things I must attend to. "She said, already turning to leave the room."

Blake watched her go, unsure of what was going through the girl's mind.

Her head fell into her hands.

She just felt tired.

And she hated it.

* * *

...

 **So... I don't really have much to say for this chapter. It was a set up, one that took longer than it should. hopefully the next will be faster. AS it is, Blake finds her self in a worse position, gaining Weiss ire. We'll just have to see how the noble reacts to it, and what's going to have to be done to get them back to a semi-polite relationship.**

 **Hopefully, you'll find out soon.**


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